Asthma and obesity

peer reviewedAsthma and obesity are both common diseases in western world. According to the data from our asthma clinic 20 % of our patients are obese and this rate increases up to 25 % in severe asthmatics included in the Belgian Severe Asthma national Registry. Alteration of thoracic mechanics contributes to greater symptom burden and poor asthma control in obese asthmatics. In particular the response to inhaled corticoids is attenuated. Weight loss results in a dramatic improvement in asthma control and should be a major goal in the asthma management of these patients