Paper Topic:

How is sleep apnea related to significant weight loss or gain?

Running Head : SLEEP APNEA AND WEIGHT

Sleep Apnea and Weight (Name Here (Name of Professor Here (Subject Taken Here (Date of Submission Here

Sleep Apnea and Weight

Obstructive Sleep Apnea is a syndrome that involves the obstruction of the upper airways of an individual during sleep (Pillar Shehadeh 2008 ) This indicates that breathing during periods of sleep is more difficult for individuals with sleep apnea . This syndrome basically involves the inability of air to enter or exit through the individual 's nose during sleep (Obioha , 2006 ) Sleep apnea is primarily characterized

by snoring during sleep , fragmented sleep cycles of apnea and arousal and periodic breathing . These cause the individual to have discontinuous sleep (Lojander , Mustajoki , Ronka , Mecklin Maasilta , 1998

Obstructive Sleep Apnea has been researched by numerous academicians and medical workers . It has been recognized to be a sleep dis that can create great risks to an individual 's health . With the increased level of severity of sleep apnea comes the increase in the severity of the risks . Thus a low level of sleep apnea may only have annoying effects such as grumpiness , irritability , drowsiness during the day , and even lower memory retention abilities . More severe forms of sleep apnea however , can cause an increase in blood pressure and may increase the risk for heart attacks and strokes (Obioha , 2006 ) Sleep apnea has also been linked to disproportionate amounts of weight gain in an individual (Geier , 2004

One of the factors that have been more commonly linked to sleep apnea is weight . It has been seen that obesity is strongly linked to sleep apnea and vice versa (Hakala , Maasilta SovijaErviz , 2000 ) One case study of a child displaying symptoms of the Pickwickian Syndrome even showed that sleep apnea is primarily a function of the individual 's weight . It was seen in this case study that obesity alone had caused the occurrence of sleep apnea (Simpser , Strieder , Wohl , Rosenthal , Rockenmacher , 1977

These facts show that weight , particularly obesity , is one of the more important research issues that need to be tackled when discussing sleep apnea . If the effects of sleep apnea are to be adequately addressed , one must be able to understand the sleep apnea and weight . This relationship may not only be causal in nature but may also be correlational

The increasing need to study sleep apnea , its symptoms , risk factors and consequent effects on the individual are fast becoming clear as its prevalence continues to increase . In middle-aged men and middle-aged women , the prevalence of sleep apnea is 4 to 5 and 2 to 3 respectively . The prevalence of the syndrome in obese individuals is much greater with 30 of the population experiencing sleep apnea . Those categorized as morbidly obese have a 50 to 98 chance of having sleep apnea (Pillar Shehadeh , 2008 ) An estimation of 18 million Americas are suspected to have sleep apnea (Obioha , 2006 ) In children , the prevalence of sleep apnea is also great . Although 3 to 12 of children are expected to snore , the prevalence...

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