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There are two links between sleep apnea and weight gain. Let’s take a look at both.

  • Weight gain can lead to sleep apnea.
    • Because of excess fat in the neck or throat areas, severe weight gain can contribute to the risk factors associated with sleep apnea. Therefore, one of the immediate treatment plans and lifestyle changes most doctors recommend with a sleep apnea diagnosis is a weight loss of at least 10% of your body weight. A change this significant can improve your quality of sleep immensely.
  • Sleep apnea can cause weight gain.
    • Many people with severe sleep apnea tend to gain weight when they don’t manage their disease appropriately. Sleep deprivation can throw hormones that control the appetite out of balance. Lack of sleep will also cause daytime sleepiness, which often results in a decrease in physical activity, making those with sleep apnea gain weight, which can make the apnea even more severe.

If you are overweight or have been gaining weight, and you have some of the symptoms of sleep apnea, talk with your doctor today. They will be able to get you set up with a sleep specialist who can get you scheduled for a sleep study. If you do have sleep apnea, your specialist will prescribe you appropriate sleep therapy as well as direct you to make some lifestyle changes that can help you turn the progression of the disease around and lose weight at the same time.

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