Obesity, allergy and immunology

Abstract

J ALLERGY CLIN IMMUNOL described an association between obesity and asthma (Fig 2). In a large population of white Australian girls, a higher bodymass indexwas reported to be a risk factor for atopy and wheeze. As a corollary, weight loss, as after bariatric surgery, has consistently been shown to improve asthma severity and control (Fig 3). Changes in airway structure and function have been associated with obesity. For example, it is common to observe an atypical obese airway pattern in morbidly obese persons at bronchoscopy (Fig 4). This pattern is