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New Study Links Abdominal Fat With Lung Function

A new study from France published earlier this month in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine has linked waist circumference with lung function – the larger around a person’s waist is, the less functional their lungs are likely to be.

The study was conducted on 120,000 smokers who came from different social and ethnic backgrounds and who also varied in their smoking history and alcohol consumption. Researchers looked at each subject’s incidence of health conditions, like diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease, and found a clear relationship between impaired lung function and these types of health issues. The correlation was due mainly to abdominal obesity, which the doctors defined as a waist measurement of 35 inches or more for women and 40 inches for men.

The researchers theorize that belly fat may degrade lung function by causing inflammation, and also by simply squeezing against the diaphragm and other internal organs. In any case, the study only adds to the growing body of evidence that excess abdominal fat weakens both your heart and lungs. With asthma season on the way, now would be a great time to lose that belly fat, and breathe a little deeper.