As per the findings of a new study conducted by researchers from Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, moderate and severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) – a common sleep disorder that is mostly associated with vehicular crashes and heart disease – has a proven link with obesity. The study said that obese men can reduce their OSA problem by shedding their excess weight.

OSA, which is characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep, is caused by the collapse of the upper airways while sleeping. Generally, each pause (apnea) in breathing lasts for at least 10 seconds; and, in case of moderate or severe OSA, 15 or more apneas occur per hour.

For the study, the researchers observed 63 obese men, in the 30-65 age-groups, who were suffering from moderate to severe OSA, and had an average apnea hyperpnoea index (AHI) of 37 apneas per hour.

Thirty of the study-participants were put on a very low energy diet for seven weeks to promote weight loss; and gradually introduced to normal food in the next two weeks; the remaining men comprised a control group and continued with their usual diet during the nine-week period.

Upon the completion of the study period, the researchers found that the average AHI for the diet group, with 18.7 kg mean weight loss, fell to 12 apneas per hour, while their control group counterparts, who lost 1.1 kg, had 35 apnea occurrences per hour.