Margarine and butter intake linked to asthma in school children
What it found
In a large survey of school children in central Iran, eating margarine or butter once or twice a week was linked to lower odds of asthma and wheezing.
Higher intakes did not show the same link.
What they found
Studies in people
Margarine and wheezing
Children who ate margarine once or twice a week had lower odds of wheezing in the past 12 months compared to those who ate it rarely or never. A significant trend was also seen.
Butter and current asthma
Children who ate butter once or twice a week had 48% lower odds of current asthma compared to those who ate it rarely or never. This link remained after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, and screen time.
Higher intakes
Children who ate more margarine or butter did not have a higher chance of wheezing or asthma. The links seen at moderate intake did not continue at higher intakes.
Olive oil
No link was found between olive oil intake and asthma or its symptoms.
Asthma prevalence
In this group, 4.22% of children had asthma confirmed by a doctor.
What the authors conclude
“We found that margarine and butter intake one or two times a week might have an inverse association with asthma and its symptoms among children.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say that eating margarine and butter one or two times a week might be linked to lower odds of asthma and its symptoms in children.
- They recommend that future studies with stronger designs, such as cohort studies, should be done to confirm these findings.
How it was done
Past studies on dietary fat and asthma have given conflicting results, and few studies have looked at this in the Middle East.
Researchers asked 7,667 children and teenagers in Yazd, Iran, about their diet and asthma symptoms using a standard questionnaire. They compared how often the children ate margarine, butter, and olive oil with whether they had asthma or wheezing.
What it can’t tell you
- This was a cross-sectional study, so it can show a link but cannot prove that eating margarine or butter causes changes in asthma risk.
- The questionnaire did not measure how many grams of these foods the children ate, which could lead to some misclassification.
- The study only included children in central Iran, so the results may not apply to other populations.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
- Authors work at
- Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Iran; Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran
The paper
- Title
- Association between Butter, Margarine, and Olive Oil Intake and Asthma Symptoms among School Children: Result from a Large-Scale Cross-Sectional Study
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Emrani AS, Sasanfar B, Nafei Z, Behniafard N, Salehi-Abargouei A (2023). Association between Butter, Margarine, and Olive Oil Intake and Asthma Symptoms among School Children: Result from a Large-Scale Cross-Sectional Study. Journal of immunology research. doi:10.1155/2023/2884630Free full textPubMed 37886368DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error