Weight Loss for Children and Adults with Obesity and Asthma. A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials

Background Asthma and obesity are major public health problems, affecting hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Obesity is associated with increased asthma risk and severity, and lower asthma-related quality of life. Objective In this systematic review, we aimed to evaluate whether weight loss in subjects with obesity and asthma leads to improvement in asthma-related outcomes. Data Sources and Extraction We searched PubMed and Google Scholar for all studies in English published January 2000-December 2018. Studies were included if they were randomized, controlled clinical trials (RCTs) for overweight/obese children or adults with asthma, with sufficient data to assess outcomes and study quality. Non-randomized and non-controlled studies were excluded, as well as those in subjects without overweight/obesity, or with non-asthmatic controls. Synthesis We identified four RCTs involving children (total n = 246) and six involving adults (n = 502). All interventions were designed for weight loss and varied from dietary restrictions to multifactorial interventions with exercise training and cognitive behavioral therapy; the duration of intervention ranged from 8 weeks to 18 months. All RCTs reported successful improvements in weight or body mass index (−0.14 standard deviation scores to −15.9% BMI reduction in children, 1.8%–14.5% weight loss in adults). RCTs generally reported improvements in asthma-related quality of life and, to some degree, asthma control. RCTs involving adults also reported improvements in lung function (FEV1, FVC, TLC), while RCTs in children showed less consistent results. Conclusions These findings suggest that weight loss in subjects with obesity and asthma may improve asthma outcomes. However, there was wide variability in populations studied, baseline and post-intervention assessments, follow-up length, outcome definition and reporting, and statistical approaches, which hindered the ability to compare studies, perform a pooled analysis, or assess generalizability. Primary Source of Funding U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH).