As more and more of us are coming to realise, Sleep Apnea is a serious problem, causing snoring but also a number of underlying health problems. It’s also recognised as commonplace in obese people, especially men. Sorry to add more ammunition to one side in the war of the sexes, but it’s in the science, I’m afraid!
There is good news, however; recent findings by researchers from Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet have suggested that one of the most effective ways of addressing the problem is through weight loss.
The study, published in the British Medical Journal, states that the researchers found a fifty percent reduction in the occurrence of Sleep Apnea, and also a reduction in snoring, where a strict regimen of weight-loss was enforced. This wasn’t any light diet, however. On average, each participant lost almost 42 pounds during the study.
This sounds extreme, and is by no means easy, but it’s a lot better than some of the alternatives. When you consider the alternative solution of sleeping with a continuous positive airway pressure machine strapped to their face, one can see why weight loss is a good idea.
What’s more, there’s all kinds of benefits to weight loss- if you’re overweight, you’re far more at risk of a massive variety of different ailments and medical complications. What’s more, the study’s findings suggested that there was almost a 20% cure rate for people who lost significant amounts of weight.
Now, granted, it’s not easy to do that. There’s all kinds of factors involved in obesity. If you’re overweight, the causes can be metabolic, psychological, or to do with a wide variety of lifestyle issues. Now, I’m not claiming to occupy any moral high ground here- your humble writer speaks here as someone who finds melted cheese in all its various culinary manifestations to be the perfect comfort food!
What is true, however, is that to a very real extent the solution to a weight problem is in your own hands. If the cause is behavioural, it’s possible to address the causes of that behaviour. If it’s to do with lifestyle and bad habits, better ones can be created. If we want to change, then we can. We need to notice the problems in the way we live, but the power to make things right is in our hands.
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