Weight Loss and Apnoea

[Moe]

I also read somewhere that using a CPAP machine can contribute to weight loss. I don't know how, but maybe the body rests the way it should and overall stress levels are decreased, thereby reducing the chances of overeating.

[DocWils]

Actually it has to do with metabolism changes, but it doesn't work for everyone. It didn't for me, for instance - in fact, I put on weight.

[DocWils]

There was a really interesting article in the NY Times recently about our weird obsession with being thin. It claimed that despite all we here, the statistics didn't match up with the push for weight loss and that obese people actually were living longer than people within the desired range. I know I'm bigger than I want to be but I also know there's no way I'm going to be a skinny sports model. And I don't want to be. The "desired weight range" is so unrealistic for me, I think it makes me want to give up completely.
They used to say "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" but I think that's insane. Of course it does, or we wouldn't be eating!

Being slender may not contribute to longevity necessarily(actually, statistically it does), but it does contribute to more well being later in life - we can tie so many diseases to adipose fat that we are now fairly sure that you really don't want to be above a certain body mass. So, it is not so much when you go, more of how you go and how much you have to suffer before you go. That is really it. Lifestyle illnesses are very common in the Western world and almost non existent in "primitive" societies that don't eat our modern foods.

Being a few kilos up from ideal is okay, being ten or fifteen up is not. We know that a 40 cm neck ties directly into sleep apnoea, time and again it crops up. We know that a 40 inch or above waist ties into insulin resistance, which leads to diabetes, and we are learning, cancer (the same inflammations that relate to insulin resistance also drive certain cancers), so yes, keeping close to the established norms does has a quality of life aspect, and in that term, longevity. The statistics the New York Times used were shown to be taken from a single study, and one that is not telling the whole story. Typical journalistic sensationalism, and not hard and fast science.

[eviltim]

I also read somewhere that using a CPAP machine can contribute to weight loss. I don't know how, but maybe the body rests the way it should and overall stress levels are decreased, thereby reducing the chances of overeating.

I have definitely experienced this. I don't know whether there's a deeper hormonal/physiological reason, but I just don't eat as much food as I did when I was untreated. I make better decisions about food (and life in general).

[zonk]

PAP made no difference but since been on PAP, I,m more hungry in the morning
Wondering if due to the breathing workout exercises during the night and feeling better

[Galactus]

During my undiagnosed OSA I was trying harder and harder to loose weight with less and less success, no matter what I did I continued to get fatter. I could eat nothing and get fat, it was that bad for me. Since having my OSA diagnosed and treated I have lost about 50 pounds. I am not as hungry, I feel better, it takes less food to feel food, and though I am dieting, and eating differently I am not starving as I was, and I am able to steadily take the weight off.

In regards to this "one size fits all approach", I take issue with it. At the height of my best physicality I was 220 with an 18 inch neck and and a 36-38 waist. I am 6 feet. The new stats say I should be roughly 180. Ridiculous. I will never, and never was 180, and if I was I'd look like I was dying of some malnutrition or disease. I think some of this should be examined on a person by person basis to evaluate what is reasonable, and what isn't. Just my opinion for what it's worth.

For sure cpap has helped me in losing weight though, for sure.

[Gabby]

In the couple of months that I have been on cpap my appetite has definitely decreased and I am more than happy with that.

[Tom in RI]

Several years ago, in advance of applying for a life insurance policy, I went on a diet and went from around 210 to 185 over a period of 3-4 months. I then took a sleep study. My apnea numbers were worse than they had been at any previous test. Not saying we shouldn't all strive for a better BMI but the direct connection to apnea isn't always there.

[ImaSurvivor]

As DocWils said ... it has to do with metabolism. Also if one is getting better and restful sleep, there is more energy which helps with being more active and exercising regularly ... along with participating with a healthy diet and life style.

I also read somewhere that using a CPAP machine can contribute to weight loss. I don't know how, but maybe the body rests the way it should and overall stress levels are decreased, thereby reducing the chances of overeating.