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The Link Between Obesity & Snoring

Many people who are obese often find they snore loudly, disturbing loved ones as they sleep and causing embarrassment. Snoring is more than just a nuisance and can be an indication of a serious medical condition. If you are obese and concerned about snoring, losing weight may be able to stop your snoring problems and improve your health. Bariatric surgery from Dr. Fernando Garcia at the Tijuana Bariatric Center can help those who struggle with obesity lose weight and alleviate many of the symptoms associated with carrying excess weight, such as snoring. To find out if your obesity and snoring are related, please contact our Tijuana, MX practice to schedule a consultation. Now, let's take a brief look at the link between obesity and snoring. 

A man snoring

About Snoring

Snoring is the sound created by air turbulence vibrating the tissues at the back of the throat. More specifically, these tissues will vibrate when they obstruct the airways. The airways may be obstructed as a result of a loss of muscle tone around the throat and soft palate, the tongue, obstructions within the nasal passages, or body fat around the throat and neck. When the airways are obstructed, it may make it difficult for a person to breathe. This sometimes means that snoring is an indication of a person having problems breathing at night and can be a sign of a serious sleep disorder.

How Does Obesity Cause Snoring?

Obesity can contribute to a person's snoring problem in a number of ways. First, carrying excess weight can affect breathing not just at night while sleeping, but also during the day. Another way obesity can lead to snoring is the fact that carrying excess weight can cause fat to be distributed throughout the body, even around the throat and neck. Fat within the throat and neck can narrow the airway and obstruct airflow, resulting in snoring. Fat also causes muscles to lose tone and become displaced. This displacement and loss of tone can cause the muscle tissues within the throat to become loose and obstruct the airways, further contributing to snoring.

Obesity Increases the Risk of Sleep Apnea

In some cases, snoring can be an indication of sleep apnea and is more likely to occur in those who are overweight. Sleep apnea is a serious medical condition in which breathing stops while sleeping. Breathing may stop many times during the night and for as long as 10 seconds at a time. When breathing stops, the brain signals the body to wake up, often causing those who suffer from sleep apnea to be exhausted when it's time to get up.

Treating Obesity Can Help with Snoring 

Those who are obese and snore can help reduce snoring and improve their health by losing weight. Losing weight can help alleviate snoring by reducing obstructive fat from the neck and throat as well as improving the tone of muscles that have been displaced by fat.

Unfortunately, losing weight is often easier said than done. For many who struggle with obesity, diet and exercise may not be enough to achieve a healthy weight. In such cases, bariatric surgery may be able to help. By reducing the size of the stomach, bariatric surgery physically restricts the amount of food a person can comfortably eat, helping those with obesity feel full with less food for successful weight loss. 

Schedule a Consultation

For more information about obesity and snoring and to find out if bariatric surgery is right for you, we welcome you to schedule a consultation.

Tagged In: Obesity, Snoring

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