Dr. Israel Hendler, Wayne State School of Medicine, was the lead investigator for a study which showed that pregnancy complications in obese women with asthma may come primarily as a result of the obesity. Hendler and a multi-center team studied about 1,700 asthmatic women and more than 800 pregnant women without asthma in the "control" group. Nearly 30.7 percent of the asthmatic women who participated in the study were obese, compared to 25.5 percent in the "control" group. Regardless of asthma, obese women were 60 percent more likely to undergo cesarean delivery, 70 percent more likely to develop high blood pressure and more than four times more likely to develop pregnancy related diabetes. The researchers have concluded that further study is recommended on the effects of weight gain and weight reduction on the course of asthma during pregnancy.