Effect of body mass index on pulmonary function in children

Abstract

Introduction: The relationship between obesity or overweight and pulmonary functions has not been investigated in Sri Lankan children previously. Therefore, we aimed to study the effects of obesity / overweight on dynamic lung functions in healthy school children in Sri Lanka. Methods This cross sectional study was carried out among healthy school children. They were categorised into ‘obese/over weight’ group (BMI > 85th percentile) and ‘normal weight’ group (BMI 5th-85th percentile). Forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and forced expiratory flow at 25-75% (FEF 25-75%) were used as measures of ventilatory function. Results Of 275 children 55 (20%) were ‘obese/overweight’. BMI has no significant relationship to any of the pulmonary function parameters. However, in contrast to what is expected, mean values of FVC, FEV1 and FEF 25-75% were lower in ‘normal weight’ group (Table 2). Conclusions No significant difference was detected in spirometry parameters between obese/overweight and normal weight school children in our study.