Obese people with asthma are nearly five times more likely than their non-obese peers to be hospitalized for the ailment.

The findings come from a study of more than 1,000 members of a healthcare organization. Compared with normal weight subjects, obese individuals were 2.7 times more likely to have poor asthma control, and 4.6 times more likely to have a history of asthma-related hospitalization.

The take-home message of this study, said study co-author Dr. Michael Schatz, "is that obese people with asthma need to be followed more carefully because it's harder to control their asthma, so they are more likely to end up in the hospital."