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People carrying excessive weight around their waist are more vulnerable to lung problems, new research has suggested.

A report published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Medicine examined health information relating to over 120,000 people from the Paris Investigations Preventives et Cliniques Centre.

The findings indicated that a high weight circumference is implicated with decreased lung function.

Lead author Natalie Leone, from the French national institute for health and medical research, said in a statement: "After adjustment for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), smoking status, alcohol consumption, leisure time physical activity and cardiovascular history, metabolic syndrome remained independently associated with lung function impairment."

The team acknowledge that further study will be needed to establish the extent of the link, but also claim that there is an immediate clinical consideration.

It was recently reported that being overweight or obese can significantly increase the risk of both knee and hip joint replacement.

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This entry was posted on Friday, March 6th, 2009 at 2:00 pm and is filed under Cholesterol / Obesity.