Weekly Report
COPD and weight management: How your weight can affect COPD symptoms plus some tips
Whatever one’s health status is, having just the right weight can be helpful in the fight against diseases like hypertension, diabetes and heart disease. The same thing is true for COPD patients. Eating a healthy diet to maintain your ideal weight can help you be able to manage your lung disease more easily. But what happens when you’re overweight or underweight? How does this affect COPD?
Read on to find out, plus follow some of our tips, too, to help you with COPD and weight management.
COPD and being overweight
Being overweight is usually associated with having excess abdominal fat, as this area is where most fatty tissues in the body are found. A study on 120,000 healthy people found that those subjects who were abdominally obese had inferior lung function than those who had smaller abdominal measurements. This study was published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
One reason for this inferior lung function is that the excess abdominal fat can push up on the diaphragm. This, in turn, decreases the amount of space for your lungs to expand. Additionally, the excess fat can also spread toward the chest wall, leaving less space for lung expansion during breathing. This ultimately leads to breathing difficulties and lesser space for oxygen intake.
Another concern is that the extra weight you carry around from excess fat makes it more difficult to move around. The more you weigh, the more effort you have to exert when moving, putting an extra burden on your body.
Lastly, the presence of extra fat tissue requires more oxygen, so the heart is also pressed to work harder to pump blood and oxygen to these fat tissues. This places a larger strain on the cardiovascular system.
What you can do
Exercise is a great way to help lose excess fat. Aside from this, it is also an important step to keeping your lungs in tiptop shape. Though it has not been proven to reverse COPD, regular exercise has been shown to strengthen the heart and the muscles involved in breathing, helping you cope better with shortness of breath. Exercising daily also conditions many of your body’s muscles, making it easier for you to perform daily activities like household chores and climbing stairs. Stronger breathing muscles also have lesser chances of getting fatigued, keeping respiratory failure at bay.
Aside from increasing your physical activity, it’s also a good idea to check your diet and eliminate unhealthy foods that may contribute to excess calories. Switch refined carbohydrates to whole grains, avoid too much fried or fatty foods, and increase consumption of vegetables and fruits.
COPD and being underweight
Being underweight is altogether another problem. Many patients in the later stages of COPD tend to lose weight due to various concerns, such as difficulty eating and the unpleasant taste of food (due to breathing through the mouth). Some patients who suffer from bouts of depression and loneliness may also find eating to be much of a challenge.
Excessive weight loss in COPD is a major concern, because with this condition, the effort it takes for breathing burns ten times more calories than in people without the disease. This need for increased energy makes eating well a priority in people with COPD.
Patients who lack the right amount of nutrients and calories have greater chances of frequently feeling fatigued and tired. The lack of energy may also cause weakness in the muscles used in breathing, in turn causing frequent bouts of shortness of breath. These symptoms also make it more difficult to move about and perform everyday tasks. Additionally, lack of calories can also make the patient more susceptible to infections and exacerbations.
When the body senses that caloric intake is not sufficient to support its needs, it triggers the breakdown of fat and muscle tissue. This leads to overall weakness and muscle fatigue.
What you can do
Having enough energy to meet your body’s needs is essential when you have COPD. The best way to do this is to ensure that you eat nutritious, calorie-dense foods. Here are some ways you can do this:
● Consume more protein - Proteins provide your body with a lot of energy. Add eggs, lean meats, and nuts to your diet. When eating bread, spread on some nut butter for extra protein.
● Add healthy fats - Drizzle healthy fats like olive oil onto your salads. You can also add these fats to marinades and dips.
● Eat dessert first - Many COPD patients tend to get tired even before reaching dessert. Having your dessert first makes eating a more enjoyable experience. Go for desserts made from dairy and eggs, like custards, ice cream and puddings.
● Add dairy, but sparingly - Dairy is a good source of protein, though the fat from cheese and milk aren’t exactly the most ideal kind to add to your diet. Add small amounts of cheese to your pasta and sandwiches, or milk to soups and shakes.
Having COPD may mean that you have to manage your weight well. This ensures that your body is getting the right amount of nutrients and energy for optimal functioning. Managing your weight well also means that you get to feel better and experience less of the difficult symptoms that come with COPD.
Do you have additional tips for managing weight? We’d love to hear about them in the comments below!
Lastly, the presence of extra fat tissue requires more oxygen, so the heart is also pressed to work harder to pump blood and oxygen to these fat tissues. This places a larger strain on the cardiovascular system.
What you can do
Exercise is a great way to help lose excess fat. Aside from this, it is also an important step to keeping your lungs in tiptop shape. Though it has not been proven to reverse COPD, regular exercise has been shown to strengthen the heart and the muscles involved in breathing, helping you cope better with shortness of breath. Exercising daily also conditions many of your body’s muscles, making it easier for you to perform daily activities like household chores and climbing stairs. Stronger breathing muscles also have lesser chances of getting fatigued, keeping respiratory failure at bay.
Aside from increasing your physical activity, it’s also a good idea to check your diet and eliminate unhealthy foods that may contribute to excess calories. Switch refined carbohydrates to whole grains, avoid too much fried or fatty foods, and increase consumption of vegetables and fruits.
COPD and being underweight
Being underweight is altogether another problem. Many patients in the later stages of COPD tend to lose weight due to various concerns, such as difficulty eating and the unpleasant taste of food (due to breathing through the mouth). Some patients who suffer from bouts of depression and loneliness may also find eating to be much of a challenge.
Excessive weight loss in COPD is a major concern, because with this condition, the effort it takes for breathing burns ten times more calories than in people without the disease. This need for increased energy makes eating well a priority in people with COPD.
Patients who lack the right amount of nutrients and calories have greater chances of frequently feeling fatigued and tired. The lack of energy may also cause weakness in the muscles used in breathing, in turn causing frequent bouts of shortness of breath. These symptoms also make it more difficult to move about and perform everyday tasks. Additionally, lack of calories can also make the patient more susceptible to infections and exacerbations.
When the body senses that caloric intake is not sufficient to support its needs, it triggers the breakdown of fat and muscle tissue. This leads to overall weakness and muscle fatigue.
What you can do
Having enough energy to meet your body’s needs is essential when you have COPD. The best way to do this is to ensure that you eat nutritious, calorie-dense foods. Here are some ways you can do this:
● Consume more protein - Proteins provide your body with a lot of energy. Add eggs, lean meats, and nuts to your diet. When eating bread, spread on some nut butter for extra protein.
● Add healthy fats - Drizzle healthy fats like olive oil onto your salads. You can also add these fats to marinades and dips.
● Eat dessert first - Many COPD patients tend to get tired even before reaching dessert. Having your dessert first makes eating a more enjoyable experience. Go for desserts made from dairy and eggs, like custards, ice cream and puddings.
● Add dairy, but sparingly - Dairy is a good source of protein, though the fat from cheese and milk aren’t exactly the most ideal kind to add to your diet. Add small amounts of cheese to your pasta and sandwiches, or milk to soups and shakes.
Having COPD may mean that you have to manage your weight well. This ensures that your body is getting the right amount of nutrients and energy for optimal functioning. Managing your weight well also means that you get to feel better and experience less of the difficult symptoms that come with COPD.
Do you have additional tips for managing weight? We’d love to hear about them in the comments below!
Email: service@oxygencare.cn
Tel:86-0755-23733851
Add: Building B, LC Hi-tech Park, Longhua
District, Shenzhen, China
