sleep apnea and it's effect on weight gain

[jt1]

im just wondering if there is a direct correlation with sleep apnea and weight gain? i'm guessing i've had sleep apnea for roughly 10 yrs,at the age of 26, because that's when the extreme snoring and crappy sleep started. at that same time i began gaining a bunch of weight. before that up until i was 26, i was in prime condition,5'10" and 170-180 lbs of solid muscle. i was always a athlete and worked out 5 times a week since a teenager religiously. but it was like all of a sudden the snoring and rapid weight gain started, and no energy at all. up to date i've gained about a 100 lbs. that being said, now that i'm starting to feel better, slowly but surely, i'm hoping this yr to loose that weight i've gained. just curious if the sleep apnea may have contributed to my weight gain?

[BlackSpinner]

Yes it is related. Sleep deprivation causes hormones to be secreted which makes you want to eat more. Google sleep deprivation to get more information on it.

[WindCpap]

There are a lot of theories, mostly put forward by non-medical people, but I have never once seen any kind of study. We fat people make all kinds of excuses about weight gain, but the reality is that we gained weight because we ate more than we should have. 100 lbs is a lot of weight to lose in a year. I would suggest more realistic goals. If the sleep apnea contributed to your weight gain, and you are being treated, it is no longer contributing.

[jt1]

There are a lot of theories, mostly put forward by non-medical people, but I have never once seen any kind of study. We fat people make all kinds of excuses about weight gain, but the reality is that we gained weight because we ate more than we should have. 100 lbs is a lot of weight to lose in a year. I would suggest more realistic goals. If the sleep apnea contributed to your weight gain, and you are being treated, it is no longer contributing.

well i just started therapy a month ago, and in that time with no diet change i've lost 10 lbs. and i've never half assed anything, so with diet and exercise i think 100 lbs in a year is a very obtainable goal. that's like 2.5 lbs a week.

[Julie]

Yes, but initial wt loss like that is usually more water than fat.

[jt1]

hold that thought...... i'll report back in a yr

[49er]

There are a lot of theories, mostly put forward by non-medical people, but I have never once seen any kind of study. We fat people make all kinds of excuses about weight gain, but the reality is that we gained weight because we ate more than we should have. 100 lbs is a lot of weight to lose in a year. I would suggest more realistic goals. If the sleep apnea contributed to your weight gain, and you are being treated, it is no longer contributing.

WindCpap,

This is a somewhat OT response but I had to respond as a thin person. Prior to my being on psych meds, I would have agreed with your position. But once I was put on Prozac (supposedly a weight neutral drug), the pounds kept adding up and showed no signs of stopping no matter what I did. Once I switched to St. Johns Wort (another story), the weight came off without my changing my diet at all.

My point is that everyone's system is different and as a result, the weight can be effected by many things. One person can eat tons of junk food and be skinny as a rail while another person can gain weight eating very little food. Personally, I think that folks who spend their lives going on diets and regaining weight lower their metabolism which makes it harder to lose weight when they try again.

Regarding studies, just because they don't exist doesn't invalidate a situation. Psych med withdrawal issues were blown off for many years by the medical community in spite of there being many complaints on the internet. It is finally getting some attention although I still feel like it is greatly minimized.

Back to regularly scheduled programming.

49er

[49er]

Yes it is related. Sleep deprivation causes hormones to be secreted which makes you want to eat more. Google sleep deprivation to get more information on it.

I would agree even though I am fortunately at a normal weight. But I know when I have had the nights from h-ll sleep wise, I have big time cravings for junk food.

49er

[Arlene1963]

I was floored to come across this study which indicates weight gain in patients treated with CPAP

http://www.aasmnet.org/jcsm/ViewAbstract.aspx?pid=29161

Steven Park blogs about this here as well.

http://doctorstevenpark.com/cpap-use-fo ... eight-gain

This result seems to confound the position that OSA causes weight gain, and therefore, logically, CPAP can reverse weight gain....

Since I'm Canadian I checked out Canadian stats.

According to this report, most Canadian patients treated with CPAP are still overweight or obese despite CPAP treatment.


http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/cd-mc/sleepa ... 09-eng.php

I'm really not sure what comes first here, weight gain or OSA, but having dug into this a bit, am increasingly taking unequivocal statements of fact relating to OSA with a pinch of salt.

Like you, I'm trying to lose weight as well, so best of luck to both of us, let's report back in a year!

[ChicagoGranny]

just curious if the sleep apnea may have contributed to my weight gain?

You would do well to read this article paying particular attention to "leptin" - http://doctorstevenpark.com/proven-weig ... -sufferers

[BlackSpinner]

There are a lot of theories, mostly put forward by non-medical people, but I have never once seen any kind of study. .

There are a lot of studies out there on sleep deprivation, like 100 years worth. The armed forces and big industry is very interested in the subject both on the mental and physical side.

http://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/502825

Impact of Sleep Loss on Hormones Controlling Appetite
Sleeping and feeding are intricately related. Animals faced with food shortage or starvation sleep less;[8] conversely, animals subjected to total sleep deprivation for prolonged periods of time increase their food intake markedly.[9] Recent studies in humans have shown that the levels of hormones that regulate appetite are profoundly influenced by sleep duration. Sleep loss is associated with an increase in appetite that is excessive in relation to the caloric demands of extended wakefulness.