Asthma-Obesity Connection

This Asthma Obesity Connection Brochure is intended to provide information on the relationship between Asthma and Obesity for Dorchester Community members and how their community is affected.

May 2, 2018 – This workshop aimed to improve asthma care for individuals with obesity in the greater Boston area by having expert presenters discuss approaches to care, and facilitating discussion among attendees on the topic.

Featured Speakers:

Keynote: Anne Dixon, BM, Bch, University of Vermont, College of Medicine “Improving Care for those with Asthma and Obesity”

Stephanie Shore, PhD, Senior Lecturer, Harvard Chan-NIEHS Center “Asthma and Obesity: Links and Potential Mechanisms”

Fatima Stanford, MD, MPH Massachusetts General Hospital: Weight Center/Harvard Medical School “How to Navigate and Approach Care in Your Patients with Obesity”

The Fairmount Greenway Campaign is designed to make areas along the Fairmount Commuter Rail Line, which runs through Dorchester, Mattapan, and Hyde Park, better serve the 180,000 residents living nearby through reducing reliance on slow, polluting buses and private car transportation.  This includes healthy and attractive biking and walking routes connecting residents to jobs, schools, new and existing open space, community centers and other neighborhood destinations, as well as to the regional open space system.  These routes run alongside the Fairmount Line, primarily in residential neighborhoods near main thoroughfares.

The CEC is working with the Fairmount Greenway Campaign and community residents to collect data showing that cycling along the Fairmount Greenway reduces the level of exposure to air and noise pollution compared to cycling along main thoroughfares in Dorchester.  This directly ties into the Asthma/Obesity initiative goals because exposure to air pollution increases risk for the development of asthma and triggers asthma attacks.  Air pollution exposure also increases bodyweight.  Furthermore, excess noise exposure increases stress and is associated with increased rates of diseases associated with obesity including diabetes and hypertension.

Early results indicate that cycling along the Fairmount Greenway does lead to less air and noise pollution exposure than cycling along the main thoroughfares in Dorchester.  Going forward, the CEC intends to collect a more robust set of data showing the levels of air and noise pollution exposure for commuters along the Greenway and on the main thoroughfares.  The CEC will share that data with the community, and used the data in grant applications to justify further funding for the expansion of the Greenway.

The CEC presents Science Days at the Dorchester Winter Farmers Market for the Community of Dorchester.  Science Days includes information on lung health, air pollution, and physical fitness.

Air pollution is a major public health concern. Our Harvard Chan NIEHS researchers, as well as those at many other academic research centers, have documented health impacts of air pollution on airways, lungs, heart, and blood vessels in addition to acting as a stressor that can cause inflammation in the body.

For more information on the health impacts of air pollution, particularly particulate matter, check out this short video.

In order to get local/neighborhood level data about Dorchester’s air pollution profile we have set up four ARISense air pollution monitors. They are located at UMASS Boston campus, near I-93 in Dorchester, in a residential neighborhood on Dudley Street, and beside an EPA air quality monitor in Dudley Square.  The location of each of the monitors is identified in the map below.

The Arisense website allows the community and researchers to access the data from these monitors in real time. These data provide viewers with the opportunity to learn about Dorchester’s air pollution profile.

The Whole Health Hula Hooping Program is a component of the CEC asthma-obesity initiative in the Dorchester Community.  The program was designed to help youth in Dorchester reduce their risk for the development of asthma and obesity by providing a fun educational experience on whole body wellness.

In addition to teaching students the art of hula-hoop dancing, the program provided education on topics including nutrition, physical fitness, mindfulness and meditation, habit formation, and stress reduction.

The participants were surveyed before and after the program.  In addition to reporting enjoying the hula hoop dancing aspect of the program they also showed improvement in all focus areas including physical fitness, nutrition, and stress reduction.

The Nutrition Source is a web-based platform provided by the Nutrition Department at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health which aims to provide timely, evidence-based information on diet and nutrition.

To get you started we recommend checking out the Nutrition Source article on 10 Tips for Healthy Eating.

The Nutrition Department at Harvard Chan School of Public Health also maintains The Obesity Prevention Source which aims to inform and empower individuals to achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

If you are interested in learning more about obesity prevention and weight loss strategies we recommend checking out the Obesity Prevention Source article on Obesity Prevention Strategies.

Center for Science in the Public Interest: Advice and Advocacy for Healthier Food.

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases: Weight-Control Information Network.

For a comprehensive overview on asthma including information on asthma symptoms, triggers, diagnosis, treatment and prevention we recommend looking the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America website.

The Boston Asthma Home Visit Collaborative has several organizations working together to improve asthma treatment in Boston.  Collaborative members offer asthma home visits in English, Chinese, Haitian Creole, and Spanish.

Neighborhood Health Plan, an organization local to the Boston area with asthma care managers, can work with you and your doctor to help with asthma control and care.  For more information, check out their Asthma Brochure which describes asthma, common treatments, triggers and ways to manage triggers, and describes an asthma management plan.

If you have a child with asthma, consider bringing this tool with you to your next doctor visit to set up an asthma action plan with your school.

Boston Children’s Hospital Community Asthma Initiative offers in home visits for families who have children with asthma.

Tufts has several asthma programs, including one targeted primarily for Asian speaking families, a pediatric program, and a general asthma clinic.

Brigham and Women’s program offers treatment for individuals with difficult to control asthma, including those with obese asthma who are having difficulty managing their symptoms.

Cloutier Easy Breathing Program is an evidence based program shown to help physicians provide better asthma care to their patients.  This program offers CE credits, and is particularly useful for pediatric doctors who frequently see patients with asthma.

The program has also been adopted for schools, and is useful for school nurses working with children who have asthma.   This program has been shown to lead to a reduction in absenteeism for children with asthma in schools that have implemented the program.

For a comprehensive review on the interaction between obesity and asthma we recommend this article.  For more information on the potential treatment strategies for those with asthma and obesity, we recommend this article (Note: This is not an open access article).

Researchers at the Harvard Chan NIEHS Center are studying the role that the microbiome may play in the interaction between asthma and obesity.  For more information check out their review article (Note: This is not an open access article).