(Ivanhoe Newswire) – Here’s another reason to maintain a healthy weight:
obese women are more likely to end up with children who have asthma.
This finding comes from researchers in The Netherlands who followed nearly 4,000
children from before birth up to age eight. About 20 percent of their mothers
were overweight, and among children with at least one parent with asthma, having
an obese mother increased the risk of asthma by age eight by 65 percent.
How would having a mother who was obese during pregnancy influence asthma risk
in youngsters? The researchers explain excess fat produces pro-inflammatory
cytokines and suppresses anti-inflammatory cytokines. Cytokines are known to
play a role in asthma.
“Therefore, when you have an obese person, you are not just looking at a problem
of excess fat, but a problem of systemic inflammation,” study author Jet Smit,
Ph.D., was quoted as saying. “This may affect the immunological and pulmonary
development in the fetus and possibly result in a higher risk of asthma symptoms
after birth.”
Dr. Smit believes the findings of his study should provide one more reason for
women in their childbearing years to maintain a healthy weight – or lose weight,
if they are already overweight or obese.
SOURCE: Presented at the International Conference of the American Thoracic
Society, May 19, 2009
