The spare tires around your tummy can put you at a risk of asthma, a team of researchers from Norway has claimed.

Up till now, tummy fat was linked to diabetes and heart disease but the new research has drawn attention towards asthma as well.

The researchers have warned masses that to avoid respiratory disease, they must cut down extra fat encircled around their tummy which makes them look ugly.

Nearly 23,245 healthy adults were observed who did not have any respiratory problem. These people were part of Norwegian Nord-Trondelag Health Study (HUNT) which was carried out for almost 11 years. The researchers noted their waist-size and Body Mass Index (BMI) to check obesity levels.

It was later observed that those who had tummy fat, but were not obese otherwise, were 1.44-times more prone to develop asthmatic problems. Those who were obese in proportion and had tummy fat were 1.81-times more prone to develop the disease compared to those who were not obese.

Norwegian University of Science and Technology's researcher Ben Brumpton stated, "Asthma can affect people of all sizes, but our study has highlighted both the individual and combined effect of central obesity and overall obesity on asthma development".