Potbelly Prone to Asthma

Fat deposits in the abdomen often make a person's self confidence down. Another impact of this condition is also harmful to health as it will invite a variety of diseases such as diabetes, heart disease or stroke.

Recent research in Amsterdam Netherlands claimed, abdominal fat also allow a person has asthma. The findings were presented at the European Respiratory Society Annual Congress, Amsterdam, where the results showed that the accumulation of fat in the abdomen - or in medical terms is called central obesity - associated with the risk of developing asthma.

Researchers said that the previous excess abdominal fat has long been linked with a number of health problems, such as diabetes and heart disease. But this time, it is found there is a correlation between the deposition of fat in the abdomen with a lung disease.

Previous studies have found no association between asthma and body mass index (BMI), which is a marker for overall obesity. The latest study was more looking at the waistline, which is a marker of central obesity, to see if the form of obesity can also contribute to asthma risk.

A total of 23,245 people aged 19-55 years realwan without a history of asthma were included in this study. They monitored progress over the past 11 years. Each volunteer then measured waist circumference to determine whether it makes a whole category of obesity or central obesity. They were also asked to report the incidence of asthma.

The results showed that volunteers with central obesity but does not include a comprehensive obesity recorded 1.44 times more likely to have asthma compared to non-obese group. While volunteers with central obesity and overall obesity had 1.81 times greater risk of having asthma.

Ben Brumpton from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, said, "Asthma can affect people of all sizes. Study we have considered the effects of central obesity and overall obesity on asthma development," he said.

However Brumpton claimed not to be able to explain exactly why abdominal fat is associated with an increased risk of asthma. "Central obesity is associated with insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome. These factors play an important role on the relationship between central obesity with asthma. We will further evaluate this relationship in the years ahead," he explained.