Obesity and Lung Health in Children

Obesity in children has increased dramatically in recent decades, and its effects on lung health have become an area of intense research. Children and adolescents who become obese are at greater risk for asthma, sleep-disordered breathing, and obesity hypoventilation syndrome. This chapter will discuss our current understanding of these conditions and will explore the possible mechanisms that underlie the increased risk of respiratory disease. Obesity also appears to influence some clinical characteristics of asthma, including symptom severity and therapeutic response. We will explore how obesity in childhood affects the complex disease characteristics of asthma and its management.