Obese men who find themselves short of breath even after moderate physical activity are invited to participate in a study by UT Southwestern Medical Center and the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine.
Dr. Tony Babb, associate professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern, is overseeing the study conducted at the institute, which is a joint venture between researchers at UT Southwestern and Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas.“In previous studies in women, we have found that the capacity for exercise is the same in lean and obese individuals, but the oxygen cost of breathing is increased in obese women with breathlessness on exertion,” Dr. Babb said. “Now we want to find out if the oxygen cost of breathing is elevated in obese men.”
The oxygen cost of breathing is the difference between the total body's oxygen consumption when it is at rest, compared to the consumption generated when breathing is altered by factors like stress or exercise.
One of the new study's first participants is 41-year-old Bryan Mitchell, an office manager whose fiancé encouraged him to take part. Mr. Mitchell broke his back several years ago, and his slow and lengthy recovery, he said, has led to weight gain.
“I couldn't exercise with the same intensity,” he said. “After I'd gained weight I noticed that I would get short of breath even if I just stood for long periods of time.”
After Mr. Mitchell qualified for the study, he was given lung function tests and completed exercises with varying degrees of difficulty.
“I'm interested in finding out the test results. Shortness of breath is something that has affected me, and I'd like to know why,” Mr. Mitchell said.
The study is investigating why some obese people have shortness of breath and others do not. Differences in fat distribution between the genders prompted a specific look at men in this study.
“We know there is a difference in lung function between lean and obese people, and that there is a relationship between shortness of breath and fat distribution,” Dr. Babb said.