Your Lifestyle and OSA

Your Lifestyle and OSA Your lifestyle can have a major impact on your health and wellbeing. Unhealthy eating and insufficient physical activity can easily lead to an increased risk of developing a chronic disease such as some cancers, heart disease or Type 2 diabetes - which are all associated with Obstructive Sleep Apnoea.

What are the consequences of being overweight? The health problems and consequences of being overweight are many and varied, including musculo-skeletal problems, cardiovascular disease, some cancers, sleep apnoea, Type 2 diabetes and hypertension. Many of these are often preventable through a healthy and active lifestyle. Having excess fat that coats your organs is a risk to your health.

This is called visceral or intra-abdominal fat. The exact cause of the link between intra-abdominal fat and chronic disease is not yet clear, but what is known is that even a small deposit of this fat increases the risk of serious health problems. Why is waist measurement important? A waist measurement of greater than 94cm for men or 80cm for women is an indicator of internal fat deposits which can coat the heart, kidneys, liver and pancreas and increase the risk of chronic disease.
Waist circumference should only be used for adults to check the risk of developing a chronic dis- ease. Measurements that indicate increased risks for children and teenagers have not been developed. Even with a normal BMI, if you have a waist measurement above 94cm for men and 80cm for women you may be at risk of serious chronic disease*.