Weight management can improve sleep disordered breathing, but benefits vary by treatment and patient context.
Evidence
This review summarizes obesity-related mechanisms and nutritional, exercise, pharmacologic, and bariatric approaches for and .
Caveat
The abstract emphasizes variable bariatric outcomes, still-emerging pharmacologic evidence, and limited long-term data on outcomes and mechanisms beyond weight loss.
Simplified
Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) has a significant impact on public health, with obesity being a major contributing factor. (OSA) and (OHS) are primary conditions in SDB, strongly linked to increased body mass index. Obesity exacerbates airway narrowing, reduces lung volumes and promotes inflammation, aggravating OSA and OHS. Weight loss, achieved through nutritional therapies, pharmacotherapy or surgical therapies, reduces apnoea-hypopnea index and associated obesity-related complications. Caloric restriction and exercise provide modest improvements, often independently of substantial weight reduction. Bariatric surgery achieves substantial improvements in many cases but displays variability in outcomes. Emerging pharmacological treatments, such as glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, show promise for patients with concurrent obesity and SDB. Personalised interventions, including physiological phenotyping and multidisciplinary management, would provide effective treatment strategies. Further research into long-term outcomes, novel therapies and mechanisms beyond weight reduction is essential. Obesity prevention also remains crucial for mitigating the burden of SDB globally. This review will evaluate the role of obesity management strategies in improving SDB outcomes, and will highlight the bidirectional relationship between obesity and SDB, emphasising an integrated patient-centred approach.
Key numbers
36%
Decrease in AHI with Weight Loss
10% weight loss leads to a 36% reduction in AHI.
65%
Bariatric Surgery Remission Rate
65% of patients achieve remission post-bariatric surgery.
17.7%
Weight Loss with Tirzepatide
Tirzepatide leads to a 17.7% weight loss in patients with .
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