Asthma And Obesity

Seemingly everywhere you look, there's a book, magazine, or advertisement on weight loss. In the United States, almost 20 percent of the population is medically obese. Staying slim is about more than just good looks. Obesity is one of the most devastating illnesses known, because it contributes to a number of medical conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, lung disease, arthritis, and depression. There is also active research on the association between asthma and obesity. One study from the University of Ottawa, in Canada, examined 9,149 adults and found that obese women, but not men, had almost twice the risk of asthma. Another prospective, ten-year study of 4,547 adults also found that obesity increased asthma risk in women, but not in men. Finally, a survey of 7,109 adults, conducted by the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, found that "both underweight and overweight are associated with increased risk of asthma" in women. Why obesity does not clearly increase the risk of asthma in men is a question presently undergoing investigation.

 

Besides reducing your risk of asthma, there are clearly other compelling, health-related reasons to maintain an ideal weight. Once again, obesity dramatically increases your risk of diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and arthritis. As mentioned previously, don't fixate on weight loss; rather, your efforts should remain focused on healthy living. If you exercise and eat right, you will be amazed at how quickly you lose weight and how much better you feel physically and mentally. Eating right and exercising are two parts of the healthy-living triad. The third part is getting enough sleep.