Overweight and exercise‐induced bronchoconstriction – Is there a link?

Abstract

Background The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of body mass index with regard to exercise performance, exercise‐induced bronchoconstriction (EIB), and respiratory symptoms in 7‐ to 16‐year‐old children. Methods A total of 1120 outdoor running exercise challenge test results of 7‐ to 16‐year‐old children were retrospectively reviewed. Lung function was evaluated with spirometry, and exercise performance was assessed by calculating distance per 6 minutes from the running time and distance. Respiratory symptoms in the exercise challenge test were recorded, and body mass index modified for children (ISO‐BMI) was calculated for each child from height, weight, age, and gender according to the national growth references. Results Greater ISO‐BMI and overweight were associated with poorer exercise performance (P < .001). In addition, greater ISO‐BMI was independently associated with cough (P = .002) and shortness of breath (P = .012) in the exercise challenge. However, there was no association between ISO‐BMI and EIB or with wheeze during the exercise challenge. Conclusion Greater ISO‐BMI may have a role in poorer exercise performance and appearance of respiratory symptoms during exercise, but not in EIB in 7‐ to 16‐year‐old children.

Cardiopulmonary fitness in children with asthma versus healthy children

“…Unsurprisingly, the VO2max was lower in children with high BMI, as adipose tissue does not consume oxygen, as well as in girls, reflecting the well-known gender differences in muscle mass and adipose tissue.9 31 Exercise-induced symptoms may be associated with misdiagnosis of asthma in overweight subjects. 32 Therefore, in this study, CPET parameters' comparisons used generalised linear models adjusted not only on gender and age, but also on BMI, in order to determine the impact of paediatric asthma on aerobic fitness. Interestingly, the results of this study suggest the existence of an early onset of physical deconditioning in childhood asthma.…”

Exercise and asthma – trigger or treatment?

“…Further, a recent large birth cohort study by Eijkemans et al [28] reported that whilst physical activity at early school age was not associated with asthma development later in life, sedentary activity time was associated with worse lung function (i.e., lower FEV 1 /FVC ratio). Several recent studies also report an association between BMI, physical activity engagement and asthma control [13,14,[29][30][31][32][33][34]. Indeed, Zhang et al [35] highlighted that physical activity is associated with improved asthma control in children, particularly in those with a high BMI.…”

“…Since 2020, six observational studies have evaluated functional and/ or exercise capacity in people with asthma [12][13][14][15][16][17] (Table 1). Gianfrancesco et al [12] assessed functional capacity via the 6-min walk test and Glittre ADL-test (TGlittre) in a large cohort of children and adolescents (aged 7-17 years).…”

“…Malmberg et al [13] recently published data from the largest evaluation of field-based exercise challenge tests (n = 1120) in children and adolescents to date. The authors reported that exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) (defined by a fall of 15% or more in FEV 1 ) was detected in almost one in five individuals.…”

Assessment of the Physical Activity of Children with Asthma Bronchiale

“…In an overweight individual, intense physical exercise as running might trigger coughing and breathlessness, which, in children, is difficult to distinguish from asthma symptoms without taking objective lung function measurements [ 21 ]. In children with asthma, physical activity may also trigger these symptoms, leading to wheezing and breathlessness, which could result in the individual refraining from more intense exercise or physical activity.…”