Belly fat can leave you breathless

Carrying excess weight around the middle can impair lung function, adding to a long list of health problems associated with belly fat, French researchers say.

Abdominal obesity is already linked with diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease as part of a cluster of health problems known collectively as metabolic syndrome.

Researchers have now shown that a large waist measurement is strongly associated with decreased lung function, regardless of other complicating factors that affect the lungs such as overall obesity and smoking.