Obesity in COPD: Revealed and Unrevealed Issues

ABSTRACTThe interactions between obesity and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are being increasingly explored. In part, this is due to the globally increasing prevalence rates of obesity. The prevalence of obesity in COPD patients is variable, and it seems that obesity is more common in COPD patients compared with subjects who do not have COPD. However, further studies are encouraged in this area due to observed inconsistencies in the current data. In this review, we focus on the knowledge of the effects of obesity on dyspnea, pulmonary function, exercise capacity and exacerbation risk. Reduction of dyspnea is one of the main therapy targets in COPD care. There is still no consensus as to whether obesity has a negative or even a positive effect on dyspnea in COPD patients. It is hypothesized that obese COPD patients might benefit from favourable respiratory mechanics (less lung hyperinflation). However, despite less hyperinflation, obesity seems to have a negative influence on exercise capacit...