Influence of body mass index on pulmonary function tests in young Punjabi population

Background: Increasing respiratory problems in youngsters, due to lifestyle and eating habits, have raised an alarming situation. To combat such health hazards, interest has peaked in the investigation of body mass index (anthropometric index) and its impact on pulmonary functions. Objectives: Aim of this study was to analyze relationship between pulmonary functions and body mass index (BMI) of subjects/participants in the Punjabi population (youngsters only). Material and Methods: This study was carried out at Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences Jalandhar, for which, the database of 234 medical students belonging to the age group of 18-25 years was investigated. A medspiror computerized spirometer was used to procure information about their pulmonary functions, in terms of the forced vital capacity (FVC), peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) and maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV). Results: All the subjects were segregated into two major categories based on gender, and these were further subdivided based on their BMI status in subgroups as underweight, normal, overweight and obese. A significant reduction (p-value < 0.05) in the pulmonary functions was observed in case of the obese subjects in comparison to the subjects exhibiting normal BMI with best results. Moreover, authors inferred that BMI had a substantial negative correlation with the pulmonary function test values (pvalue < 0.05). Conclusions: The underweight, overweight and obese subjects/participants may encounter respiratory problems irrespective of gender, which need to be investigated further in different scenarios like seasonal changes and under the influence of different diseases like asthma. The authors suggest that the weight needs to be controlled for normal BMI to maintain good lung functions.