If we are in a boxing match, Fat in one corner, and Lungs in another, Fat wins every time.
Why?
Fat takes up the chest room Lungs need to expand and for lung patients, fat compromises our ability to breathe.

The fat v lungs slammed home to me a couple weeks ago when a granddaughter, taking a new class on her way to becoming an RN, told me she just learned that each pound of excess fat is fed by SEVEN MILES of blood vessels.

I went online that night and found an airport-scanned photo (Digg) of a 250-pound woman next to a 120-pound woman. Fat filled her stomach and chest crowding her lungs and heart. Heaven knows what all that fat is doing as it surrounds and crowds the kidneys, bladder and other organs….it cannot be good!

Look, fellow Tubby’ettes and join me. To date, I have lost 133 miles of excess blood vessels supporting nineteen pounds of excess fat.
Regular Tubby’ettes is lucky if their health is not yet compromised.

Lung patients, easing the fat surrounding our lungs will not change the PFT numbers, but we are bound to feel a sigh of relief from our lungs as the fat around them retreats and they can finally expand to capacity and add to our quality of life.

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Obesity and the lung: 5 • Obesity and COPD
Thorax 20 08;63:1110-1117 doi:10.1136/thx.2007.086827
Abstract
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and obesity are common and disabling chronic health conditions with increasing prevalence worldwide. A relationship between COPD and obesity is increasingly recognized, although the nature of this association remains unknown. This review focuses on the epidemiology of obesity in COPD and the impact of excessive fat mass on lung function, exercise capacity and prognosis. The evidence for altered adipose tissue functions in obesity—including reduced lipid storage capacity, altered expression and secretion of inflammatory factors, adipose tissue hypoxia and macrophage infiltration in adipose tissue—is also reviewed. The interrelationship between these factors and their contribution to the development of insulin resistance in obesity is considered. It is proposed that, in patients with COPD, reduced oxidative capacity and systemic hypoxia may amplify these disturbances, not only in obese patients but also in subjects with hidden loss of fat-free mass. The potential interaction between abnormal adipose tissue function, systemic inflammation and COPD may provide more insight into the pathogenesis and reversibility of systemic pathology in this disease.”
• Review series
1. F M E Franssen1,
2. D E O’Donnell2,
3. G H Goossens3,
4. E E Blaak3,
5. A M W J Schols1
1. 1
Department of Respiratory Medicine, University Hospital Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands
2. 2
Division of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Queens University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
3. 3
Department of Human Biology, Nutrition and Toxicology Research Institute (NUTRIM), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
1. Dr A M W J Schols, NUTRIM School for Nutrition, Toxicology and Metabolism, Department of Respiratory Medicine, University Hospital Maastricht, P O Box 5800, 6202 AZ Maastricht, The Netherlands; a.schols{at}pul.unimaas.nl
• Received 15 February 2008
• Accepted 30 April 2008
• **************************
• http://digg.com/health/Body_Scans_of_a_250_lbs_Woman_vs_120_lbs_Woman
More later… Sharon O’Hara