Overweight and Allergies
Food allergy (FA) is a common disease in children, and its prevalence is increasing in developed countries. The prevalence of FA is increasing in developed countries. Since the impact of overweight on children's health has also become an important social issue, this study examined the relationship between overweight and the prevalence of FA in Japanese children.
A total of 1772
The study analyzed data obtained from 1772 Japanese children using a self-administered questionnaire. Using weight groups according to the body mass index cutoff points proposed by the International Obesity Task Force, two groups were created: overweight and underweight.
To examine age differences, children were divided into four age groups (3-6, 6-9, 9-12, and 12-15 years), and univariate and multivariate logistic models were run to examine the relationship between overweight and FA.
Results.
The prevalence of FA was significantly higher in boys than in girls and in girls than in boys in the 6-9 and 12-15 age groups.
For the prevalence of FA, within the 12-15 year old group, girls who were overweight were significantly higher than those who were not, and there was no significant difference in boys.Even after adjusting for age and asthma in girls, overweight was found to be significantly associated with FA.
In conclusion, overweight girls tended to have a higher prevalence of food allergy, but further research is needed to investigate the relationship between being overweight and food allergy.
Hayashi, K., Tsujiguchi, H., Hori, D. et al. The association between overweight and prevalence of food allergy in Japanese children: a cross-sectional Environ Health Prev Med 26, 44 (2021). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12199-021-00960-2
Summary
Studies have suggested an association between gender, age and food allergy. As for the gender and age differences, it is thought that these results are due to physiological responses, such as increased estrogen levels in girls as they develop, estrogen stimulating humoral immunity and antibody synthesis, and androgens and progesterone suppressing immunity and inflammation.
It is also known that obesity is associated with increased serum IgE levels, but a similar study in another country did not prove a causal relationship.
As for allergies, the results were based on a self-reporting system, so depending on how the study is conducted, the causal relationship between obesity and food allergies may become clearer.Although it has not been proven, there are many disadvantages to obesity in terms of health, so we should manage our health to avoid obesity.
