HealthDay News — According to a study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, adding exercise to a weight-loss program results in improved critical control for obese patients with asthma.
Patricia Freitas, from the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, and colleagues examined the impact of exercise training in a weight-loss program, which comprised nutrition and psychological therapies, on asthma control.
Fifty-five obese patients with asthma were randomized to weight-loss program plus exercise (WL + E, 28 patients), which incorporated aerobic and resistance muscle training, or a weight-loss program plus sham (WL + S, 27 patients) that incorporated breathing and stretching exercises. Fifty-one patients were assessed after 3 months.
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The researchers found that, compared with the WL + S group, the WL + E group had significantly improved clinical control scores (median, −0.7 versus −0.3), greater weight loss (mean ± standard deviation, −6.8 ± 3.5% versus −3.1 ± 2.6%, respectively), and greater aerobic capacity (median, 3.0 versus 0.9 ml O2 × kg−1 × min−1).
Improvements were also seen in lung function, anti-inflammatory biomarkers and vitamin D levels in the WL + E group, as well as reductions in airway and systemic inflammation.
“Adding exercise to a short-term weight-loss program should be considered as a useful strategy for achieving clinical control of asthma in obese patients,” the authors write.
Reference
Freitas PD, et al. “The Role Of Exercise In A Weight-Loss Program On Clinical Control In Obese Adults With Asthma: A RCT”. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. 2016. doi: 10.1164/rccm.201603-0446OC. [Epub ahead of print]
