If you suffer from asthma, you know that there are many “triggers” that can set off your symptoms. For instance, you know to stay away from animal hair, pollen, dust mites, mold, and chemicals, all of which can affect how you feel on a given day. But did you know that how you deal with your asthma can be directly affected by your weight?

It’s true! A new study published in the journal CHEST suggests that for male and female asthmatics, being obese may cause poorer asthma control than if you’re of normal weight. The study’s findings indicate that these obese asthmatics may carry a specific trait causing the poorer control. They may experience different asthmatic properties than non-obese people, as well.

In the study, Canadian researchers compared 44 obese subjects with asthma and 44 non-obese subjects with asthma. The subjects were examined for various medical categories, including:

• pulmonary function changes
• methacholine challenge scores – “methacholine” is a chemical compound shown to diagnose bronchial “hyperresponsiveness,” the contracting of the lungs’ small airways
• sputum induction cell counts – “sputum” is fluid released orally
• symptom perceptions
• BMI/waist circumference
• waist-to-hip ratio

The study’s findings found that the obese subjects displayed poorer asthma control than the non-obese. In addition, the obese subjects had lower measures of total lung capacity, expiratory reserve volume, functional residual capacity, and residual volume.