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got sleep apnea? your tongue may be the problem
however, there are are no evidence-based methods on how to lose tongue fat
jan 18 2020
2 minute read
getty images
for anyone whose slumber has been interrupted by sleep apnea, this may seem like an unexpected cause. a new study finds that losing weight in a specific body part may be the most effective: the tongue .
in a new study published this week, researchers from the university of pennsylvania looked at 67 participants with mild to severe obstructive sleep apnea who live with obesity—those with a body mass index greater than 30.0. on average, the participants lost nearly 10 per cent of their body fat over the course of six months, through either diet or weight loss surgery.
they compared the participants’ mri scans of the pharynx (upper airway) and abdomens before and after the weight loss intervention and found that reducing tongue fat volume was a key link between weight loss and improving sleep apnea. overall, their sleep apnea scores improved by 31 per cent.
there are no evidence-based methods on how to lose tongue fat, specifically. researchers did find that overall weight loss reduced the size of the jaw muscle that controls chewing and the muscles on each side of the airway, but none of these were as effective for improving sleep apnea as losing tongue fat. the authors suggest future studies could explore what foods and diets can help reduce tongue fat.
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“most clinicians, and even experts in the sleep apnea world, have not typically focused on fat in the tongue for treating sleep apnea,” said lead author dr. richard schwab, chief of sleep medicine.
“now that we know tongue fat is a risk factor and that sleep apnea improves when tongue fat is reduced, we have established a unique therapeutic target that we’ve never had before.”
left: mris before weight loss. the levels of fat is shown in yellow. right: mris show decreased levels of fat after a 10% overall weight loss.
cnn
sleep apnea is a potentially serious sleep disorder where breathing constantly stops and starts, those affected can experience slow or shallow breathing and often wake up throughout the night because the upper airway has collapsed. it’s most common in older males, but it can also affect women and children. it’s estimated to affect 5.4 million canadians , but that number may even be higher because it tends to go underreported .
the most common treatment for sleep apnea is a continuous positive airway pressure (cpap) machine. it keeps the upper airway passages open, but because of the straps and masks, many are unable to tolerate it because of how uncomfortable it feels. evidence has shown that some alternative treatments, like playing the digeridoo or woodwind instruments , such as the oboe or bassoon, can also help treat sleep apnea.
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this study follows-up a previous study, also led by schwab, from 2014, which found that participants who had sleep apnea and significantly larger tongues and a higher percentage of tongue fat did not sleep as well when compared to participants without sleep apnea. this study determines that reducing tongue fat improves symptoms most efficiently.
“primary care doctors, and perhaps even dentists, should be asking about snoring and sleepiness in all patients, even those who have a normal body mass index, as, based on our data, they may also be at risk for sleep apnea,” schwab said.
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