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The Weight of Asthma BMIs of pregnant women could hold the key to breathing problems in children 
Obesity isn�t just a matter of the body supporting excess fat � it also causes increased tissue inflammation throughout the body by producing pro-inflammatory compounds called cytokines. And for an expectant mother, that inflammation could increase the chances her child will have asthma. �Therefore, when you have an obese person, you are not just looking at a problem of excess fat, but a problem of systemic inflammation,� says Jet Smit, Ph.D., of the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands. �This may affect the immunological and pulmonary development in the fetus and possibly result in a higher risk of asthma symptoms after birth.� Dr. Smit and his colleagues studied data from more than 4,000 children of the Prevention and Incidence of Asthma and Mite Allergy (PIAMA) looking for evidence of asthma. The children were included prenatally and followed up yearly until the age of eight years. Nearly 21 percent of mothers were overweight, and of the children with at least one asthmatic parent, there was a 65 percent increase in asthma occurrences. The data showed that a child�s birth weight had no effect on asthma development. �This suggests that children of overweight mothers are exposed to increased levels of pro-inflammatory factors during fetal life, and may have a much greater risk for developing asthma than similar children whose mothers were not overweight,� Dr. Smit says. �These findings suggest that there are multiple benefits to maintaining � or in some cases attaining � a healthy body weight. In women of child-bearing age, it may not just be a benefit to their health, but to their offspring as well.�
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