Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), a potentially serious sleep disorder, is a leading cause of death during sleep. According to studies, about 80.1 per cent of obese people who died in their sleep are victims of OSA unless proved otherwise – that they died of a heart attack, said Dr. Praveen Raj, Bariatric Surgeon, Gem Hospital and Research Centre.

OSA occurs when throat muscles intermittently relax and block your airway during sleep. “A noticeable sign of OSA is snoring,” Dr. Praveen said. “The turbulence of air in the wind pipe results in snoring, and when the pressure inside the abdomen is so high in obese people, it exerts pressure on the lungs, affecting the oxygen saturation rate of patients suffering from OSA.

“For example, a 58-year-old patient suffering from morbid obesity and weighing 125 kgs has only 40 per cent of oxygen saturation rate (oxygen intake). About 20 to 30 per cent of people who are morbidly obese suffer from OSA, and the co-morbidities of this condition include heart failure and Pulmonary Artery Hypertension. In our hospital, we treat up to five patients affected with OSA every month.”

“As snoring increases, one gets tired and it leads to OSA. People who suffer from OSA often have a disturbed sleep or spend sleepless nights and fall asleep in the morning hours between 5 and 6 am when the metabolism rate of the human body shoots up. This is a vicious cycle and contributes to weight gain,” says Dr. Unnithan, a leading city Pulmonologist.

Obesity has become a global health problem and childhood obesity is on the rise. About 26 per cent of women and 21 per cent of men in India are obese. Doctors recommend weight loss bariatric surgery for obese patients, which is covered under the CM comprehensive health care scheme.

Pulmonologists also recommend lifestyle changes, such as taking 10,000 steps every day and a high protein diet, to fight obesity and the resultant OSA.