A study seems to show that fat can also accumulate in the airways of the lungs. A discovery that could explain why asthma problems are particularly common among overweight people.
Overweight or obesity was previously linked to asthma or breathing problems in general. But until now, researchers have struggled to explain this link between the two diseases . In this sense, Australian researchers have recently made an important discovery. They tell us today that fatty tissue can actually accumulate in the walls of the airways of overweight people. This leads to inflammation, and therefore asthma.
For this work, published in the European Respiratory Journal , the researchers studied the bequeathed lungs of 52 recently deceased people. Of this sample, 15 had never suffered from asthma, 21 suffered from this disease but died of other reasons, and 16 died because of this respiratory disorder. In total, more than 1,300 airway wall samples were analyzed.
The researchers then explain that they discovered adipose tissue in the walls of the bronchi , especially in people with a high body mass index (BMI). The relationship was also proportional. In other words, the higher a person's BMI, the more fatty tissue there was in the lungs. This accumulated fat seemed to alter the structure of the bronchi, causing inflammation of the lungs.
“ We found that excess fat accumulates in the walls of the bronchi, takes up space there and appears to increase inflammation in the lungs , says Peter Noble, of the University of Australia and lead author of the study. We believe this causes thickening of the bronchial tubes which restricts the passage of air into the lungs. This could at least partially explain an increase in asthma symptoms ” .
The study is therefore very interesting, but the sample is still small. It will therefore be necessary to continue this research on a greater number of subjects . Alive, if possible. But eventually, it is possible that obese people can actually reduce their asthma problems by losing weight.
Recall that overweight problems currently affect 1.4 billion people over the age of 20 in the world (6.5 million people). They now claim nearly three million victims each year.
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