(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- There’s yet another reason to eliminate love
handles. A new study links abdominal obesity to decreased lung function. Excess
weight around the waist is already associated with diabetes, hypertension,
cardiovascular disease and other health problems collectively known as
“metabolic syndrome.”
The new research was conducted in France. It analyzed the health data of more
than 120,000 people. Abdominal obesity was defined as having a waist
circumference of greater than 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men.
Researchers found waist size to be linked to decreased lung function
independently of smoking history, sex, body mass index (BMI) and other
complicated factors.
“Abdominal obesity may mechanically affect the diaphragm and chest wall
compliance with decreased lung volumes,” author Natalie Leone, M.D. of French
National Institute for Health and Medical Research was quoted as saying.
SOURCE: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, March 2009
(second issue)
