London, June 2 (IANS) Sufferers of obstructive sleep apnoea – a the sleep disorder – could benefit from following a low energy diet to lose weight.
Sufferers rarely feel refreshed after a night’s sleep and the disease is linked to negative health effects such as increased risk of accidents, decreased quality of life and a higher chance of premature death.
Sleep apnoea is a common disorder caused by abnormal pauses in breathing during sleep, the journal bmj.com reports.
Around 60 to 70 percent of patients with sleep apnoea are either overweight or obese. Previous studies in other patient groups have concluded that losing weight can improve the condition.
Study authors, led by Kari Johansson from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, investigated whether a low energy diet followed by counselling to keep weight under control benefited patients with sleep apnoea, according to a Karolinska statement.
The study follows a previous trial by the same authors, published in the BMJ in 2009, that investigated the effects of very low energy diet for nine weeks. The present study looks at the longer term effects of weight maintenance over one year.
The study included 63 men between 30 to 65 years of age who suffered from moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnoea. The participants had a body mass index (BMI) range of 30-40.
Of the 63 patients, 58 completed a very low energy diet for nine weeks and then started a one-year weight maintenance programme (this included counselling and advice about nutrition and exercise).
The results show that patients who lost weight after nine weeks on the low energy diet maintained this after a year and this had a positive effect on their sleep apnoea.
For instance, at one year, 48 percent of patients no longer required continuous positive airway pressure (a mask designed to help breathing during sleep) and 10 percent had total remission of obstructive sleep apnoea.
