Childhood asthma is more common and severe among the overweight and obese

Asthma is the most common chronic medical condition of childhood, and for those with asthma this is especially true.

An American Journal of Epidemiology study utilized medical records of over 600,000 patients aged 6 to 19 years who were enrolled in the Kaiser Permanente Southern California health plan from 2007 through 2011. Asthma incidence ranged from 16.9 per 1,000 person-years in normal-weight youth to 22.3 per 1,000 person-years among extremely obese youth. The risks of asthma for overweight, moderately obese, and extremely obese youth relative to those of normal weight youth were 16 percent, 23 percent, and 37 percent higher, respectively. This association between obesity and asthma risk was strongest in Asian/Pacific Islanders and in girls aged 6 to 10 years. Children who were moderately or extremely obese had more frequent asthma exacerbations requiring emergency department visits and treatment with oral steroids.