Losing weight improves sleep apnoea

Losing weight does help relieve sleep apnoea in people who are obese.

Sleep apnoea is a condition in which people stop breathing during periods of deep sleep, and is often associated with being overweight or obese. More than just loud snoring, it can lead to high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease and lower a person's quality of life.

For years, doctors have told people with sleep apnoea that losing weight will alleviate the problem, but there's been very little research-based evidence to prove that, until now. To see how losing weight helps sleep apnoea patients, researchers from America identified 264 obese adults with type 2 diabetes and sleep apnoea.

The participants were divided into two groups. One group participated in a behavioural weight loss programme developed especially for obese patients with type 2 diabetes, ate portion-controlled diets, and exercised for 175 minutes per week. The other group - the control group -- participated in a diabetes support and education programme only.

After a year, members of the "intervention" group lost an average of 10 kg, significantly more than the half a kg shed by members of the control group. The intervention group also saw greater improvements in their sleep apnoea.

More than three times as many participants in the intervention group had complete remission of their sleep apnoea (14 percent compared to 4 percent), and they also showed a decrease in episodes of sleep apnoea by about half compared to the control group. Participants in the control group, who only lost about half kg, saw significant worsening of their sleep apnoea, which suggests that without treatment, the disorder can progress rapidly.

These above results show that patients can expect a significant improvement in their sleep apnoea with weight loss.