New research has shown that love handles may make if harder to breathe.

It is common knowledge that being overweight increases the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes however French researchers how now discovered that those extra inches may also decrease lung function making it more difficult to breathe. The study, which analysed 120,000 people, showed that there was a positive independent relationship between lung function impairment and metabolic syndrome, mainly due to abdominal obesity.

Although it is as yet unclear how love handles affect lung function, it is believed that belly fat may impair the natural working of the diaphragm and chest function. Fat tissue is also believed to increase inflammation in the body and therefore this factor may also play a role.

Although a healthy diet and an exercise routine are the best way to lose weight, more drastic methods of weightloss include using gastric bands or having a gastric bypass operation.