Weight Loss Tips to Help Sleep Apnea
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Video Transcript
RANA HASAN
There are no certain foods that will help, but losing weight by eating a low-calorie, low-fat diet and increasing your exercise will definitely help you manage your sleep apnea better. Weight has a direct effect on diagnosis of sleep apnea. Patients who are heavier tend to have severe sleep apnea. The heavier you are, the severer the sleep apnea usually is. We tell people to avoid caffeine. And of course, you should avoid high-fat, high-calorie diets. We look at a BMI, which is Body Mass Index. If it's above 30, it is considered obesity, if it's above 40, it is considered morbid obesity. I also highly recommend avoiding alcohol, narcotics, sedatives. Anything that makes you more sleepy will make your sleep apnea worse.
So be careful, and talk to your doctors about what medications you take.