Childhood obesity and risk of asthma: The enrrich project

Childhood obesity and asthma are public health concerns that have experienced sharp increases in the last decade. While several studies have elucidated a potential temporal association between obesity and asthma, the issue remains debatable with few studies assessing such an association among low-income elementary school children. The ENRRICH Project, a community-based participatory study conducted by Loma Linda University and their community partner CCAEJ set out evaluate the complex dynamics of the built environment, especially railyards in the vicinity of schools, and resulting health outcomes. Over 1000 children from two elementary schools in San Bernardino County were screened. Non-invasive testing for airway inflammation by measuring fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) with a NIOX device and lung function estimations with the Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF) meter were conducted. High-risk was defined as either caregiver reported physician-diagnosed asthma and inhaler use, measured FeNO > 20ppb, or poor performance on the PEF test (<80% of predicted). Children were classified as underweight (4%), normal weight (55%), overweight (16%), and obese (24%). 42.5% of the children were categorized as having or being at high-risk for asthma. Obese children had higher odds of being high-risk for asthma even after adjusting for age, gender, and race. (OR =1.424, 95% CI: 1.049-1.932, p < 0.05). Analyses by race/ethnicity will be presented as well as possible implication for prevention and treatment. The high prevalence of asthma and obesity has significant public health implications, necessitating interventions that are aware of their confluence in order to mitigate.