Weight gain over 20 years tied to accelerated decline in lung function; decline attenuated with weight loss
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 26, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Moderate and high weight gain during adulthood is associated with accelerated decline in lung function, according to a study published online Feb. 25 in Thorax.
Gabriela P. Peralta, M.P.H., from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health in Spain, and colleagues recruited 3,673 adults at ages 20 to 44 years with repeated measures of weight and lung function in three study waves (1991 to 1993, 1999 to 2003, and 2010 to 2014) until they were aged 39 to 67 years. Participants were classified into weight change profiles based on baseline body mass index (BMI) categories and change in weight over 20 years. Trajectories of lung function were estimated over time as a function of weight change profiles.
The researchers found that accelerated declines in forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) were seen in association with moderate (0.25 to 1 kg/year) and high (>1 kg/year) weight gain during follow-up among individuals with normal BMI, overweight, and obesity at baseline. Obese individuals with high weight gain during follow-up had −1,011 mL lower estimated FVC at 65 years compared with those with baseline normal BMI and stable weight (±0.25 kg/year); this was in spite of having similar estimated FVC levels at 25 years. An attenuation of FVC and FEV1 declines was exhibited by obese individuals at baseline who lost weight (<−0.25 kg/year).
“Public health policies that promote healthy lifestyles and body weight may be important for maintaining good lung function in adult life,” the authors write.
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