Poor nutrition hurts teen lungs, study finds

By Ishani Ganguli

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Teenagers who do not get enough of the nutrients commonly found in fruits and fish are more prone to underperforming lungs, asthma, coughing and wheezing, researchers reported on Monday.

They found that teens with the lowest intake of fruit and especially vitamin C had weaker lungs compared to the others. Teens who ate less vitamin E, found in vegetable oil and nuts, were more likely to have asthma, Jane Burns and colleagues at the Harvard School of Public Health found.

Based on these findings, Burns said that current recommended dose of vitamin C, 85 mg a day, may not be enough for teens to have healthy lungs.

Many studies have connected unhealthy eating habits with lung problems.

So Burns and colleagues surveyed and tested 2,112 12th-graders from the United States and Canada.

In keeping with previous surveys, they found that many teenagers ate less than the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables, they reported in their study, published in the journal Chest.

Only 11 percent took vitamin supplements on a daily basis.

Teens who consumed less fruit and lower levels of omega-3 fatty acids were more likely to have asthma and respiratory symptoms such as wheezing.