Me and My Asthma

Posted on December 18, 2008

I found an interesting article today about a study that linked childhood obesity to asthma.  The study found “that healthy children with higher levels of body fat and lower levels of physical activity had greater amounts of airway narrowing after exercise.”  For the details, check out the article.

The headline caught my attention because I have asthma.  I’ve had it for as long as I can remember.  Dogs, cats, dust, and sometimes exercise trigger my asthma.  It’s pretty annoying sometimes, but for the most part I have learned to live with it.

Why am I sharing this?  Because yesterday I went to see my asthma doc and my PFT (pulmonary function test) results were the best they have ever been.  The doc said that my results were better than a person without asthma. 

I’m a wannabe-triathlete and I swim, bike, and run frequently.  Because of my training, my lungs are stronger and just flat out work better than they used to.  That is good news. 

Bottom line?  Exercise is good for everyone –even people with asthma. 

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Comments

  • http://twitter.com/blakehagen/status/ Blake Hagen

    New Post: Me and My Asthma http://tinyurl.com/4rfprt

  • http://fatfightertv.com/blog/ FatFighterTV

    Wow – that’s great news about your lungs!!! Way to go. :)

    FatFighterTV´s last blog post..Food for Thought: Chestnuts

  • Blake Hagen

    @FatFighterTV Thanks!

  • http://www.familydoctormag.com James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

    Good info and good for you
    There was a study in the October Pediatrics journal that found children did better with asthma when their parents had high expectations of them.
    No doubt asthma can be debilitating, even deadly, but you are an inspiration to that you control your asthma more than it controls you.
    thanks

  • Blake Hagen

    @James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H. Thanks. I have to use a few inhalers every morning and night to control the asthma but you’re right, I try not to let it control me.