A Multifactorial Weight Reduction Programme for Children with Overweight and Asthma: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Pulmonology
• Obesity Research
• Clinical Trials

Background:

• Obesity is increasingly linked to asthma development and severity.
• The impact of weight reduction on asthma management in children remains largely unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effects of a multifactorial weight reduction intervention on asthma management in overweight/obese children.
• To assess changes in anthropometry, lung function, lifestyle, and inflammatory markers.

Main Methods:

• An 18-month randomized controlled trial involving 87 overweight/obese children with asthma.
• Regular assessments of anthropometric, lung function, lifestyle, and inflammatory parameters.
• Longitudinal data analyzed using linear mixed models.

Main Results:

• No significant difference in body mass index-standard deviation score changes between intervention and control groups.
• Significant improvements in asthma features (control, quality of life) and lung function over 18 months in both groups.
• Greater improvement in forced vital capacity (FVC% predicted) in the intervention group compared to the control group.

Conclusions:

• Clinically relevant improvements in weight, lung function, and asthma were observed in both groups.
• The weight reduction intervention demonstrated potentially more pronounced benefits on FVC, asthma control, and quality of life.
• Multifactorial weight reduction interventions may offer clinical benefits for managing asthma in children.