New research indicates that obesity significantly impairs pulmonary measures in seniors, potentially contributing to dyspnea and exercise intolerance.
RT’s Three Key Takeaways:
- Pulmonary Capacity Reduction: Researchers found that older adults with obesity have significantly lower total lung capacity and expiratory flow rates compared to their peers without obesity.
- Clinical Implications: Healthcare providers should account for obesity as a primary contributor to exertional symptoms when evaluating older patients for unexplained shortness of breath.
- Consistency Across Sexes: Although body fat distribution varies between men and women, the negative impact of obesity on lung function is consistent across both groups.
Older adults with obesity have significantly decreased measures of lung function compared to those without obesity, regardless of sex, according to a study presented at the 2026 American Physiology Summit.
The findings suggest that obesity causes pulmonary detriments beyond the natural declines associated with aging, which may contribute to exertional symptoms such as shortness of breath and exercise intolerance, according to a news release from the American Physiological Society (APS).
“Obesity can decrease lung function in older adults,” said first author Sarah Skillett, MS.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that approximately 30% of US adults age 65 and older have obesity. While obesity is a known risk factor for heart disease, these results highlight its specific impact on the respiratory systems of the elderly.
Body Composition and Lung Volume
Researchers assessed the body composition and lung function of 59 adults with an average age of 70. Approximately half of the participants had obesity. Those with obesity exhibited higher percentages of total body fat, trunk fat, and visceral fat, which is the deep abdominal fat surrounding the organs.
The study found that participants with obesity had significantly lower total lung capacity, which is the volume of air in the lungs after a deep inhalation. They also demonstrated lower scores in other pulmonary metrics, including the volume of air leaving the lungs during full exhalation, the speed of a forceful exhalation, and the amount of air remaining in the lungs after a full exhalation.
“The effects of obesity should be carefully considered by clinicians and healthcare providers when assessing lung function in older adults,” said Tony Babb, PhD, principal investigator and professor of internal medicine in the division of pulmonary critical care medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center, in a news release.
Impact of Sex and Fat Distribution
The research team investigated whether differences in fat distribution between men and women influenced lung function outcomes. The data showed that women had a higher percentage of total body fat, while men had higher percentages of trunk and visceral fat relative to their total body fat.
Despite these differences in how fat was distributed, the study found no significant differences in lung function impairment between men and women with obesity. This indicates that the presence of obesity itself, rather than the specific location of fat tissue, is the primary driver of decreased pulmonary function in this population, according to the news release.
