Children with a high or low BMI are at risk of developing impaired lung function, latest evidence has underscored.
A new study from the Karolinska Institutet has found that if children with an abnormal BMI normalises it before adulthood, the impairment could be diminished.
Approximately 10% of children have reduced lung function development and are unable to hit maximal lung capacity as an adult.
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Not achieving maximal lung capacity in adulthood is associated with a higher risk of developing health conditions, such as lung disease, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, the study has reported.
Lead author Dr Gang Wang said: “In this study, the largest so far, we’ve been able to follow children from birth all the way to the age of 24, covering the entire period of lung function development.”
Fellow author Professor Erik Melén said: “Interestingly, we found that in the group with an initially high BMI but a normalised BMI before puberty, lung function was not impaired in adulthood.
“This highlights how important it is to optimise children’s growth both early in life and during their early school years and adolescence.”
Dr Wang said: “The focus has been on overweight, but we also need to capture children with a low BMI and introduce nutritional measures.”
The results have been concluded after researchers analysed the BAMSE project – a trial which included more than 4,000 children who have been followed from birth to the age of 24.
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During the trial, the research team measured the participant’s lung function at the ages of eight, 16 and 24 by using spirometry. They also examined urine samples from the participants.
According to the results, the urine samples from participants with a high BMI had higher levels of metabolites of the amino acid histidine compared to the samples of those with a lower BMI.
Professor Melén said: “We see here objective biomarkers for the correlation we’ve found, even if we don’t yet know exactly the molecular association between high BMI, histidine and impaired lung development.”
Read the study in The European Respiratory Journal.
