As of yet, his research has not uncovered substantive evidence that weight loss will alleviate asthma, though Camargo hypothesized that in certain cases it might.
"Just speculating, I would guess that asthma caused by obesity will be more likely to go away [with weight loss] than that which is not," he said.
Of course, Cardozo's findings do not mean that obesity always causes asthma.
Tricia M. Michels '00, co-director of the Fitness and Nutrition Program--part of Project Health, a Phillips Brooks House program--said only some of the 9- to 11-year-old overweight girls she mentors have asthmatic problems.
Camargo said the report is likely to prompt other researchers to study the relationship between asthma and obesity in children.
"I think it'll redirect people's attention to other explanations for why asthma has increased so much in our society," he said, mentioning that the prevalence of asthma has doubled since the 1970s.
"There are a lot of people working on this topic now," he added. "We've already sparked a lot of interest in this field."
In the future, Camargo said he plans to do follow-up research to confirm his findings.
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