Losing weight cures sleep apnea, scientists discover

Sunday, January 03, 2010 by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger Editor of NaturalNews.com (See all articles...) Tags: sleep apnea, weight loss, health news

(NaturalNews) A recent study conducted by scientists at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have found that simple weight loss is an effective treatment for sleep apnea in obese men. Published in the British Medical Journal, the study revealed a 50-percent reduction in sleep apnea cases following a rigorous weight-loss regimen where each participant lost an average of nearly 42 pounds throughout the course of the study.

A common disease in overweight people, particularly in men, sleep apnea is a disorder where breathing is interrupted during one's sleep due to a blocked or collapsed airway. Most people with sleep apnea must sleep with a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine in order to insure healthy breathing and to alleviate associated symptoms.

Rather than have to use a machine, however, scientists have found that the best way to eliminate sleep apnea is by losing weight. Nearly 20 percent of study participants who lost significant amounts of weight were declared to be completely cured from sleep apnea. Participants with the most severe cases of sleep apnea benefitted the most from the weight loss program and they experienced the greatest results.

Significant weight loss was achieved by placing participants on a very low calorie diet (VLCD) which was composed of a low-calorie food powder. When mixed with water, the powder was used as a meal replacement for every meal of the day, resulting in rapid weight loss. Following the study, participants were invited to participate in a behavioral change program designed to help them maintain a healthy weight.

Comments by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger

It's no surprise that being extremely overweight might interview with the physical movement of air through the trachea and into the lungs. That so many people suffer from this problem is a statement about the very large problem of obesity in the western world. Sleep apnea is virtually unheard of in developing nations where far fewer people are obese.

The good news is that resolving obesity to cure sleep apnea also provides a wealth of other health benefits: Reduced risks of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, asthma and even the risk of catching influenza. Maintaining a healthy body weight is probably the single most important thing a person can do to improve their health.

And yet the lifestyles we pursue today in modern society make it virtually impossible to lose weight and keep it off. When people work 12 hours a day, commute 2 hours a day, eat processed food on the run and spend most of their lives indoors under artificial light, staying fit and trim is all but impossible. The only real solution to maintaining a healthy body weight is to change our lifestyles by giving up the long work days, the processed fast food and the city life.

To be healthy, you've got to live closer to nature. Live a simpler life with more sunlight and less stress. More time outdoors and less time in a cubicle. These are the things that can make a real difference. The curing of sleep apnea is just a side effect of choosing to pursue a healthier lifestyle.

Sources for this story include:
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