The man two doors down from me died of emphysema and heart failure 18 years ago, and he weighed about 24 kilograms. He was diagnosed with emphysema in 1992, and his doctor told him to stop smoking, which he did, and to walk around three kilometres three times per week. I don't know his full story, but he would walk down the street with his little silky terrier saying, "Okay, pee here. Poo here" and then walking home, again., about 300 metres each way. And yes, he played lawn bowls twice a week.

Someone who has Stage One Emphysema, who quits smoking and starts exercising, and has yearly flu shots and five yearly pneumonia shots MAY take longer to progress. But emphysema always gets worse.

Yes, a person who is overweight can struggle to breathe, as they have so much extra strain on their heart.

Okay, I knew a guy, who was diagnosed with the same arthritic condition as me, and at the time, he was a smoker and was a bit overweight, and the doctor who diagnosed him said, between puffs on a cigarette and with a large stomach, that he needed to quit smoking and lose weight. Most sensible doctors will say, "Okay, losing weight is a sensible thing to do if you're overweight, BUT, you can still have room for some pleasure in eating." Okay, most doctors would probably say, "All right, one or two glasses of wine, one small bottle or can of beer, one scotch with soda (or coke) a day won't hurt. And a few scoops of ice-cream for dessert won't hurt you, either. Nor will a bit of cake."