Astham and weight gain

[KateMcIl]

My 10 yr old son has gone from an under weight child to having a body that has just swollen in a few months. He plays football 3 times a week, basketball, tennis and netball and when he is not doing those sports he is out on his bike or skateboarding. He now wants to eat all the time and I am having to monitor the quantities and food carefully. This has all happened since he started taking his Beclazone on a regular basis. Could it really be effecting his weight this much. He is now embarrassed.


This discussion is related to asthma and weight gain.

[kitkat777]

I believe Beclazone is a type of Corticosteroids.  Unfortunately steroids do have the tendency to make people hungry, and can also raise blood sugar levels which can also lead to weight gain.  Yes this can be effecting his weight that much.  

I know when I was on corticosteroid pills and shots for my severe allergies I wanted to eat everything in sight.  It's an uncontrollable urge, and even if I was good and avoided eating too much, I still gained weight because of my blood sugar.  

I would suggest talking to his doctor about this.  Not because of his appearance, but because I have been told by my doctor that being overweight has been linked to making asthma worse.  

Keep in mind if your doctor does change his medication, it will still be in his system for about 2 weeks.  I know it was still effecting me for about 3 weeks after I was off of the steroids.  

[Dr J Singh]

Hello,
This gain in weight is a side effect of the corticosteroid Beclazone that he is taking.Weight gain and central obesity are side effects of steroids.I would suggest you to consult your son’s doctor and shift to inhaled steroids rather than oral steroids.

Hope it helps. Take care and regards.

[trishamc]

Hi Kate,

My son is 8 and is on Beclazone he has put on a considerable amout of weight since october last year when my doctor told us he has to use it twice a day, its unbelieveabe the amount of food he wants to eat and can eat.. i have tried to control he's diet but the weight still pile's on.  He is nearly 6 stone now and is very conscious of himself.

thanks for the comments i'll be making an appointment tomorrow with our doctor.

Trisha