Effects of Obesity on Pulmonary Functions in Children

Park, Seok Won; Kim, Hwang Min; Kim, Jong Soo; Cha, Jae Kuk; Lee, Hae Ran

Abstract

PURPOSE: The incidence of obesity has increased in Korea recently. Obesity leads to higher risks of hypertension, hyperlipidemia and insulin resistance. It also leads to risks of respiratory complications. This study was performed to see the effects of obesity on children's pulmonary functions and on developed bronchospasm after exercise loading according to their obesity degrees.
METHODS
257 obese children and 150 non-obese children were enrolled. Obese children were divided into 3 groups by the obesity degrees. Pre- and post-exercise loading FEV1(forced expiratory volume at one second), FVC(forced vital capacity) and PEFR(peak expiratory flow rate) were checked in all subjects. The percent predicted values of each parameter was compared according to obesity degrees and the differences between pre-exercise and post-exercise values.
RESULTS
The percent predicted value of FEV1, FVC decreased only in the severe obesity group compared with those in the control group. However percent predicted PEFR declined according to obesity degrees. The percent predicted value of FEV1, FVC and PEFR after exercise loading were much lower than those before exercise loading in all groups.
CONCLUSION
As the degree of obesity was higher, the percent predicted value of pulmonary function was lower. And after exercise loading, as the degree of obesity was higher, the reduction of percent predicted value of pulmonary function was larger. Therefore the pulmonary function in obese children must be observed carefully. Further studies on the effects of pulmonary functions in obese children are necessary.