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Updated: Mar 26, 2026
Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Asthma and overweight/obese: double trouble for urban children
Elise N Wiesenthal1, Maria Fagnano1, Stephen Cook1
1a Department of Pediatrics , University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry , Rochester , NY , USA.
Insights
Children with persistent asthma who are overweight or obese experience more symptoms and activity limitations. They also have higher healthcare utilization, but not increased use of inhaled corticosteroids.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Obesity Medicine
- Public Health
Background:
- Persistent asthma affects numerous children, impacting their quality of life and healthcare needs.
- Childhood obesity is a growing concern with potential implications for chronic respiratory conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between overweight/obesity and asthma-related outcomes in urban children.
- To compare symptom severity, activity limitations, and healthcare utilization between normal weight and overweight/obese children with persistent asthma.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the School Based Asthma Therapy trial, enrolling 530 children aged 3-10 with persistent asthma.
- Assessed symptoms and healthcare utilization via in-home interviews; measured height and weight to determine BMI percentile.
- Employed bivariate and multivariate analyses to compare normal weight children with overweight/obese children (BMI >85th percentile).
Main Results:
- Overweight/obese children (49% of 472) reported more asthma symptoms and activity limitations compared to normal weight peers.
- Overweight/obese children showed increased likelihood of emergency department visits or hospitalizations.
- A trend indicated higher acute asthma-related healthcare visits in overweight/obese children, with no difference in inhaled corticosteroid use.
Conclusions:
- Overweight/obesity in children with persistent asthma is linked to increased symptom burden, activity limitations, and healthcare utilization.
- Interventions targeting weight management may be crucial for improving asthma control in affected children.
- Further research and targeted strategies are necessary to address the health disparities faced by overweight/obese children with asthma.
Objective:
To evaluate the effects of overweight/obese versus normal weight on symptoms, activity limitation and health care utilization among a group of urban children with persistent asthma.
Methods:
Data were obtained from the School Based Asthma Therapy trial. We enrolled 530 children ages 3-10 with persistent asthma from 2006 to 2009 (response rate: 74%). We conducted in-home interviews to assess symptoms and health care utilization. We measured height and weight in school nurse offices to determine BMI percentile, and compared normal weight children to overweight/obese (BMI >85th percentile) children. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used.
Results:
We collected BMI data from 472 children (89%); 49% were overweight/obese. When controlling for child race, child ethnicity, intervention group, caregiver age and screen time, overweight/obese children had more days with asthma symptoms (4.25 versus 3.42/2 weeks, p = 0.035) and more activity limitation (3.43 versus 2.55/2 weeks, p = 0.013) compared to normal weight children. Overweight/obese children were more likely to have had an ED visit or hospitalization for any reason (47% versus 36%, OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.01, 2.19), and there was a trend for overweight/obese children to have more acute asthma visits in the past year (1.68 versus 1.31, p = 0.090). Overweight/obese children were not more likely to be taking a daily preventive inhaled corticosteroid (OR 1.0, 95% CI 0.68, 1.56).
Conclusions:
Overweight/obese children with persistent asthma experience more asthma symptoms, activity limitation and health care utilization compared to normal weight children, with no increased use of inhaled corticosteroids. Further efforts are needed to improve the health of these children.
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