Today that we have heard again in the news of childhood obesity, I would like to tell you that according to specialists from the Spanish Society of Pediatric Allergy and Clinical Immunology (SEICAP), Obese children are more likely to have allergic asthma than those who eat a healthy diet.
It also seems that drug treatment in the first case is less effective. The data handled are based on results of recent studies published in Australia (by the journal Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology) and the United Kingdom (conducted by the University of Dundee / Scotland).
Our society is already alerted by the increase in childhood obesity in Spain, and some information affirms that the incidence rate of this health problem has quadrupled in the last 30 years, exceeding that of the United States. According to SEICAP data, at least 1 in 10 children between 6 and 7 years old are obese and about 12% of them are asthmatic. These obesity figures they are among the highest in the world And they become a risk factor that predisposes towards childhood asthma.
"Pediatric allergists have proven that obese adolescent girls are more likely to have asthma and in addition, both boys and girls with this problem are more likely to develop other types of allergies due to the inflammatory process that underlies obesity." This is what Dr. Luis García-Marcos, a member of the SEICAP Respiratory Tract work group, states: Obesity affects the respiratory system of children in two ways: On the one hand it alters their respiratory mechanics and on the other hand “it makes the organism is in a pro-inflammatory state, which influences lung inflammation itself ”
Other risk factors for childhood asthma:
The obesity It is not the only risk factor for childhood asthma, although it is one of the most important. A review by the Research Center in Environmental Epidemiology of Barcelona and published in March in 'Current Allergy and Asthma Reports' adds other factors that influence when a child has childhood asthma.
Among them tobacco stand out, "Especially if the mother smokes during pregnancy," says Dr. García-Marcos, contamination or exposure to fungi in houses with moisture stains. Those children whose parents or relatives have asthma are more likely to get it as well.
This specialist explains that there is also factors that influence as protectors against childhood asthma. One of them is breastfeeding because "it has been proven that children breastfed for 3 months or more have less risk of asthma, at least in the first years of life." The Mediterranean diet rich in fruits, vegetables, proteins, cereals and olive oil also lowers the risk.
Topics related to asthma were discussed at the XXXVI Congress of the Spanish Society of Clinical Immunology and Pediatric Allergy held last week in Cádiz.
