Effect of obesity on pulmonary function test in adolescent boys

Abstract

Background: Obesity is an emerging problem, especially among adolescents due to their lifestyle changes related to the low level of physical activity and high-calorie diet. Excess adipose tissue is often associated with respiratory abnormalities such as a reduction in lung volumes, capacities, and expiratory flow rates. Hence, there is a need to find the pulmonary functions test values among obese adolescents and create awareness of the drawbacks of obesity as this is the high-risk period for the onset of obesity which predicts body mass index in adulthood. Aims and Objectives: The aims of the study were to study the effect of obesity on pulmonary function test (PFT) values in adolescent boys. Material and Methods: PFT was done on 10 obese and 10 nonobese adolescent boys of the age group 12–17 years from Dr. Ulas Patil English Medium School, Bhusawal. Forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume at 1st s (FEV1), (FEV1/FVC) ratio, and maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV) were taken as parameters for study. Results: FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC, and MVV are reduced in obese subjects as compared to nonobese boys and it is statistically highly significant. Conclusion: Results of the study conclude that obesity affects the pulmonary functions and obese adolescents have significantly lower pulmonary functions.