Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Apnea Leads to Poor Diet

In research similar to our earlier discussion about Sleep Apnea as a Cause of Obesity, rather than vice-versa, researchers in Arizona published a study showing that people with sleep disordered breathing (SDB) consumed more fatty foods and cholesterol if their SDB was more severe. The researchers looked at baseline data collected as part of The Apnea Positive Pressure Long-term Efficacy Study (APPLES), an attempt to gauge the effectiveness of CPAP and related treatments over time. Then they correlated the information with a number of different variables, especially what is known as respiratory disturbance index (RDI).

All of the patients in the study had sleep apnea. In looking at the data, researchers also found that people with an RDI > 50, meaning people with more disturbed sleep breathing, consumed a diet that was higher in cholesterol, protein, total fat, and total saturated fat. In fact, those with higher RDI's consumed, on a daily basis,

88.16 mg more cholesterol

21.96 g more protein

27.75 g more total fat

9.24 g more saturated fat

Although apnea is commonly correlated with obesity, these results were after correction based on body mass index (BMI), meaning that there seems to be an independent correlation between SDB and diet. Although it seems unwise to jump to conclusions, this study points strongly in the direction that, in some cases at least, sleep apnea causes obesity rather than the other way around.

If you find you are having trouble sticking to a diet and losing weight because of unexplained cravings or appetite that is out of control, perhaps SDB is to blame. Schedule a sleep apnea consultation at the Snoring and Sleep Apnea Treatment Center in Gurnee, Illinois, today.

http://www.ihateheadaches.org/