Childhood Obesity Linked With Greater Risk For Allergies
A new study suggests that obese children and adolescents are 26 percent more likely to have some kind of allergy, especially to food, Reuters reported.
While the researchers acknowledged it is unclear if obesity causes allergies, the results suggest that controlling obesity in young people may be important for lowering rates of childhood allergies and asthma.
Dr. Darryl Zeldin, acting clinical director at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, or NIEHS, said a positive association was found between obesity and allergies.
The report, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, showed the signal for allergies seemed to be coming mostly from food allergies.
Dr. Stephanie London, a researcher at NIEHS, said the rate of having a food allergy was 59 percent higher for obese children.
Researchers looked at data on 4,000 children and young adults aged 2 to 19 that included information about allergies and asthma.
Several factors were analyzed, including total antibody levels to indoor, outdoor and food allergens, body weight, and responses to a questionnaire about diagnoses of hay fever, eczema, and allergies.
Obese children are considered to have a body mass index in the top 95 percent for children of their age. The study showed that antibodies for specific allergens were higher among children who were obese or overweight.
Experts say childhood and adult obesity has become a growing problem in the U.S. and the rest of the world.
"Seeing a possible link between obesity and allergies provides additional motivation for undertaking the challenge of reducing childhood obesity," said Dr. Linda Birnbaum, NIEHS director.
Zeldin said while the results from this study are interesting, they do not prove that obesity causes allergies.
“More research is needed to further investigate this potential link," he said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that some 16 percent of U.S. children and young adults aged 2 to 19 are considered obese.
Obesity raises the risk for heart disease, diabetes and asthma.
"Given that the prevalence of both obesity and allergic disease has increased among children over the last several decades, it is important to understand and, if possible, prevent these epidemics," said Dr. Cynthia M. Visness, lead author on the paper and a scientist at Rho Federal Systems Division, Inc. in Chapel Hill, N.C.
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