For overweight and obese individuals, the incidence of asthma increases by 50 percent, as compared to those of normal weight, according to a meta-analysis of seven studies on severe asthma involving 333,102 patients.The results appear in the first issue for April 2007 of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, published by the American Thoracic Society.E. Rand Sutherland, M.D., M.P.H. [click link for full article]