'Fat found in overweight people's lungs for first time'

Fat can accumulate in the lungs of people, particularly those who are overweight or obese, researchers have shown for the first time.

Scientists already know that people who are overweight or obese are more likely to suffer with wheezing and asthma, but the reasons for this have not been completely explained.

The new study, published in the European Respiratory Journal, suggests that this fatty tissue alters the structure of people's airways and this could be one reason behind the increased risk of asthma.

"Looking at samples of lung, we spotted fatty tissue that had built up in the airway walls. We wanted to see if this accumulation was correlated with body weight," said John Elliot, a senior research officer at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Australia.

The researchers examined post-mortem samples of lung that had been donated for research and stored in the Airway Tissue Biobank.

They studied samples from 52 people, including 15 who had no reported asthma, 21 who had asthma but ...