Pediatric Obesity and Asthma Quality of Life Barbara Velsor-Friedrich, PhD, RN a, *, Lisa K. Militello, MSN, MPH, CPNP b , Joanne Kouba c , Patrick R. Harrison, BS, MA d , Amy Manion, PhD, RN, CPNP e , Rita Doumit, PhD, RN f BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE Adult Obesity The phenomenon of unhealthy weight status in the United States has captured the attention of health professionals and the public alike. Dramatic increases in body mass index (BMI; weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared, ie, kg/m 2 ) a Niehoff School of Nursing, Loyola University Chicago, Granada Center Room 355B, 1032 West Loyola Avenue, Chicago, IL 60626, USA; b College of Nursing, Arizona State University, 500 North 3rd Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004-0698, USA; c Niehoff School of Nursing, Loyola University Chicago, 2160 South First Avenue, Maywood, IL 60153, USA; d Department of Psychology, Loy- ola University Chicago, 1032 West Loyola Avenue, Coffee Hall, Chicago, IL 60626, USA; e College of Nursing, 600 South Paulina Avenue Suite 440, Amour Academic Center, Chicago, IL 60612, USA; f University of Lebanon Beirut Campus * Corresponding author. E-mail address: bvelsor@luc.edu KEYWORDS  Asthma  Obesity  Youth  Quality of life KEY POINTS  The literature to date highlights existing gaps and provides several outlets for future research.  The comorbid prevalence of obesity and asthma in youth is clearly an area requiring addi- tional research.  It is evident that health disparities exist for both asthma and obesity, especially in both Hispanic and African American youth.  It is suggested that for these at-risk populations, weight-management and weight- reduction education should be included in every health-related visit.  In addition, because of the negative effect of asthma and obesity on quality of life, tools such as the Pediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire should be used at every asthma evaluation visit and quality-of-life issues discussed, and incorporated into the asthma treatment plan. Nurs Clin N Am 48 (2013) 259–270 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cnur.2013.01.011 nursing.theclinics.com 0029-6465/13/$ – see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.