Reviewing Findings on Nutrition’s Connection to Lung Health, with Lisa G. Wood, PhD

A presentation titled ‘Pediatric Year in Review’ was given at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2025 International Conference in San Francisco, during which presenter Lisa G. Wood, PhD, highlighted recent findings on nutrition and its connection with respiratory health outcomes.

Wood, who is known for her research at the Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI) and work as a professor at the University of Newcastle, spoke with the HCPLive editorial team about her presentation from ATS and its major takeaways. First, Wood was asked what had led to her presenting on the topic of diet and its relationship with lung health.

“My research team is based at the University of Newcastle in Australia, and we have been working on examining the relationship between nutrition and respiratory disease for the last 20-odd years,” Wood explained. “We've been looking across the lifespan. The effects of nutrition in childhood are what has been one of our areas of focus. We've been really interested in it as a topic because, typically, there hasn't been a lot of research trying to link nutrition and respiratory outcomes.”

Wood was asked by HCPLive about what she felt were some of the most compelling findings this year that she had presented regarding the impact of early-life nutrition on the onset of respiratory diseases in children.

“Among the topics that I covered in my ‘Year in Review’ presentation were, first of all, a paper that was looking at ultra-processed foods,” Wood said. “They are foods that are industrially produced and are very far away from whole foods…They are manufactured, so they have different nutrient composition, and they are increasingly consumed. Now over 50% of the dietary energy intake in high-income countries comes from these ultra-processed foods. So the fact that they're eaten in such large quantities really makes us ask the question, how are they affecting our health?”

Wood explained that this research and, generally speaking, an increasing amount of work being published, demonstrate that such processed foods could be detrimental to health. She pointed to a paper published in Pediatric Allergy and Immunology.

“This paper was a systematic review of the literature, and it looked at the association between ultra-processed foods allergies and asthma,” Wood said. “They did actually find quite a number of studies that demonstrated a link between ultra-processed foods and the development of allergies and asthma in children. They also found that ultra-processed foods altered the gut microbiome and caused immune dysregulation. So I think this is a really important finding.”

Wood did note, however, that a number of papers did not demonstrate any effect on asthma or lung health related to ultra-processed foods. Nevertheless, the volume of research pointing to a connection was described by Wood as significant.

“It really directs researchers to go and look further to understand why this is occurring,” Wood explained. “That will allow us to develop some therapeutic strategies, or intervention strategies to avoid the negative effects of ultra-processed foods.”

For any additional information on this subject, view Wood’s full interview segment posted above. To learn more about conference presentations and new data, view our latest conference coverage.

The quotes contained in this interview summary were edited for the purposes of clarity.