Health First Research

Despite the fact that chiropractic is not a therapy for asthma, per se, recent research published in the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research recorded the results experienced by 81 children with asthma who were given chiropractic adjustments. The two-month study reported that those under care experienced a 45% decrease in the number of “attacks” and that 31% of the subjects voluntarily decided to decrease their medication.

Even though chiropractic care may be able to help those who already have asthma, public health researcher Julie Von Behren, of Northern California Cancer Center in Berkeley, and colleagues found that being overweight, especially around the middle, may increase a woman’s risk for developing asthma.

In the study women who were overweight or obese were much more apt to have asthma than women at a healthy weight, but regardless of a woman’s weight, a large waist size, i.e., more than 34 inches, also suggested increased risk for asthma, Von Behren and colleagues report in the medical journal Thorax.

In addition, obesity may make asthma symptoms more severe, according to Von Behren, and make urgent medical visits and hospital admission due to asthma more likely. “These findings are particularly troubling,” Von Behren and colleagues say, given that the majority of American adults are now overweight or obese.

For more on this valuable study and sources, go to reuters.com

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