Your weight loss regimen may be stagnating due to no fault of your own

Once people make the choice to lose weight, they usually do so with support from friends, family and health professionals. Most of us know the benefits of weight loss when obese or overweight. We reduce our chances of developing disorders like type II diabetes, hypertension and possible heart failure. Obesity also effects our reproductive and respiratory function, as well as our memory and mood. A weight loss of 5-10 percent of body weight can offer meaningful health benefits even if ideal body weight is not reached.

Sleep apnea is where an individual’s breathing is interrupted during sleep with associated recurrent arousals, leading to increased hypertension and cardiac arrhythmias. When an individual is obese, BMI > 30, they more than likely suffer from sleep apnea. Once an individual has lost a significant amount of weight, sleep apnea resolves it self.

What about those patients that have trouble losing weight?

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If you have reduced your caloric intake and increased your physical activity and you still find you are not losing as much weight as you should, sleep apnea may be a culprit that is effecting your health. Sleep apnea and weight gain work in a vicious circle; you gain a lot of upper body weight, you develop sleep apnea. Not treating sleep apnea can lead to you keeping the excess weight. Continued sleep deprivation may lead to consuming empty calories. Having a bad nights’ sleep makes it harder to maintain the physical requirements to lose weight.

Treating sleep apnea can help those both starting their weight loss regimen and those who have found that they have plateaued and are not making any more progress. Treatment helps a person feel more rested and not suffer from intermittent nocturnal hypoxia.