Lose tongue fat to improve common sleep disorder
Losing weight is an effective treatment for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), and now researchers have found that improvements in sleep apnea symptoms appear to be linked to the reduction of fat in the tongue.
Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure the effect of weight loss on the upper airway in obese patients, the study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, found that reducing tongue fat is a primary factor in lessening the severity of OSA.
“Most clinicians, and even experts in the sleep apnea world, have not typically focused on fat in the tongue for treating sleep apnea,” said study researcher Richard Schwab from University of Pennsylvania in the US.
