Obesity and the Importance of Breathing

Abstract

Obesity is a complex and non-communicable disease with a pandemic entity. Currently, multiple causes can lead to obesity, and it is not always easy to create a direct relationship between physical inactivity, poor quality of nutrients consumed, and calculation of excess calories. Among the associated comorbidities, obesity creates a dysfunctional environment of respiratory rhythms at the central and peripheral levels, with functional, morphological, and phenotypic alteration of the diaphragm muscle. This pathological adaptation of breathing is one of the most important causes of the dysregulation of the autonomic system, which will negatively affect the progression of comorbidities and chronic non-physiological adaptations in obese persons. Introducing a physical activity program involving diaphragm training could be a very valid strategy to restore the systemic autonomic response, delaying or avoiding the onset of pathologies in excess fat. This brief narrative review focuses on the importance of breathing in obese subjects.

Keywords: diaphragm; fascia; obesity; osteopathy; physiotherapy; respiratory rehabilitation.

Figure 1. Obesity is included in non-communicable diseases, and due to its presence throughout the world, it is called by some authors as “globesity.” WHO defines a person as overweight if he has a BMI greater than or equal to 25 kg/m2, while a person with obesity has a BMI greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2

WHO: World Health Organization, BMI: body mass index Image Credit: Bordoni Bruno

Figure 2. The image summarizes the respiratory risk factors that obesity can cause, the respiratory pathologies that can result from chronic adaptations related to obesity, and the summary of the known adaptations of the diaphragm muscle in the presence of excess fat

Image Credit: Bordoni Bruno and Escher Allan