Diet and breast feeding linked with asthma risk - health matters - Brief Article

Better Nutrition, Oct, 2001

In a recent study published in the journal Thorax, researchers looked at the risk factors for asthma in preschool children. Parents of children ages 3 to 5 years were surveyed to confirm the presence of asthma and to pinpoint the various proposed risk factors. The researchers found a few unchangeable factors which increased the risk of asthma--a hereditary tendency towards allergies, having a parent with asthma and having had a serious respiratory infection in the first two years of life.

The researchers also, however, found two factors which could be modified: diet and breast feeding. According to the study, a high intake of polyunsaturated fats (such as those fats found in traditional stick margarine and foods fried in vegetable oil) may increase the risk of childhood asthma by as much as half. On the other hand, babies who were breastfed had a decreased risk of developing asthma.