Hazards of obesity are countless which simply warrant weight loss in time to avoid long-term sequel of excess weight. A lot of research is underway to assess the effects of obesity on respiratory system of an individual. It is already known that patients who are obese suffer obstructive sleep apnea more frequently than people with normal weight. In the recent years, medical scientists have also disclosed a very important fact that obesity has strong relation with bronchial asthma.
Researchers have found that people who are obese are at greater risk of developing bronchial asthma as well as obese people with asthma have more severe disease than do people with normal weight.
A number of studies in this regard recognize obesity as a notorious risk factor in development and worsening of bronchial asthma. How obesity worsens asthma and how it does make a person more prone to develop asthma is a complicated process. Research shows that a number of factors are responsible for increasing risk and severity of asthma in obese people.
In a research published in the May 2005 issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, the scientists working for Physiology Program at the Harvard School of Public Health, elaborated factors which are thought to play key role in development and worsening of asthma in obesity. They described these factors as
In obesity lungs expand to lesser extent that reduces the size of breath. These factors play key role in narrowing the airways.
There is chronic low grade inflammation in obese people that originates from fat tissue. This systemic inflammation may affect smooth muscles present in the airway which result in airway hyper-responsiveness and narrowing.
Many hormones are also released from fat tissue in obese people. One of the important hormones called leptin is present in excess in obese people. Leptin is a pro-inflammatory hormone that is present in high concentration in asthmatic patients. This is an indirect evidence of more sever asthma in obese people.
Dont’ Let Bronchial Asthma Grab You For Whole Life!
Whatever mechanism is involved in causation of bronchial asthma in obesity, one thing is crystal clear that obesity is a declared risk factor for worsening and causing bronchial asthma. Severely obese or morbidly obese people are particularly more vulnerable to this worst effect of asthma. Also remember that once bronchial asthma grabs someone, it usually remain with that person for the rest of his life. Wisdom is hidden in losing weight in time to prevent this deadly complication of obesity.
If you are morbidly obese (body mass index above 40), hurry up to defeat bronchial asthma before it gains control over your airways. Remember the only effective way of losing weight in morbid obesity is bariatric surgery. More important to tell about bariatric surgery is that it is only safely performed at dedicated bariatric surgery hospitals. So chose a dedicated bariatric surgery hospital for your dreams of living healthier life to come true.
Photo Credit: Asthma Inhaler (Object) by Dottie Mae, on Flickr
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