Question

Explain the relationship between sleep apnea and obesity.

Answer 1

Sleep apnea can be defined as a sleep disorder in which a person's breath is interrupted during sleep. Obesity on the other hand can be defined as a body mass index (BMI ) of more than 30 or in simple words being overweight.

The relationship between sleep apnea and obesity is that of a vicious cycle. Generally obesity is one of the main causes behind sleep apnea.Obesity causes soft tissue development around the throat and mouth area. This leads to obstruction of airway during sleeping grdually causing sleep apnea. This sleep apnea leads to sleep deprivation and sleep deprivation being one of the main causes of weight gain leads to more weight gain and thus more obstruction of the airway and further increase in sleep apnea. Thus the vicious cycle continues.