Kids' Diet Tied to Asthma Risk, Study Finds

June 5, 2010— -- Eating a Mediterranean diet -- one high in fruits, fish, and vegetables and low in saturated fat -- is associated with a reduced likelihood of asthma in children, a large observational study reaffirmed.

Overall, choosing foods increasingly similar to a Mediterranean diet was associated with a lower prevalence of both wheeze and asthma, Dr. Gabriele Nagel, of Ulm University in Germany, and colleagues reported in the June issue of Thorax.

In contrast, children who ate burgers at least three times a week had increased odds of having asthma.

"Fast food is rich in industrially hydrogenated vegetable fats such as margarine and meat from ruminant animals which are dietary sources of trans-fatty acids," the researchers noted. "There is some evidence that dietary intake of trans-fatty acids is associated with asthma and atopy [allergic sensitivity]."

The findings support previous studies that identified links between increased consumption of fish, fruits, and vegetables with reduced asthma symptoms, although the researchers noted that causal connections could not be established.

"These findings show the need for further studies to determine if this type of diet in an interventional study will have the same effect," Dr. Wesley Burks, chief of pediatric allergy and immunology at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., commented in an e-mail.

"But," he added, "I would not deliberately change someone's diet based on this observation alone."

There is some biological plausibility regarding a link between the Mediterranean diet and risk of asthma and allergy, the study authors noted.

Certain fish are rich in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which have anti-inflammatory properties and have been shown to counterbalance pro-allergic T helper (Th)2 activity. Fruits and vegetables are high in antioxidants, which have been shown to be inversely related to asthma in adults.

So, according to Dr. Stephen Cook, a pediatrician at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, "it would make some sense that higher levels of consumption of these [Mediterranean] diets would be beneficial, especially among those who would benefit the most from the protective effect."