- NEW YORK (Reuters Health)
- Obesity is associated with numerous ills, even in children, and new research
suggests excess pounds may also prevent kids from getting a good night's
sleep.
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- According to investigators at the Chinese University
in Hong Kong, up to one third of obese children appear to have trouble
breathing at some point during sleep, compared with only 5 percent of normal
weight children.
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- Having enlarged tonsils also appears to put sleeping
children at risk of breathing problems.
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- Study author Dr. Y.K. Wing told Reuters Health that kids'
excess weight may lead to breathing problems by causing the airways to
narrow or become congested during sleep.
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- Wing added that treatments for sleep-related breathing
problems, also known as sleep apnea, include surgery to remove enlarged
tissues in the back of the throat, weight loss if a child is obese, or
the use of a specialized machine that keeps children breathing normally
while asleep.
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- Sleep apnea describes a condition in which sleepers experience
a temporary collapse of their upper airway. In addition to snoring, other
symptoms of sleep apnea include snorts or gasps as breathing temporarily
stops and restarts. The condition has been linked to poor concentration
and attention problems.
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- Although obesity is a common feature in adults with sleep
apnea, previous research into the role obesity plays in young sleep apnea
sufferers has shown mixed results, with some studies suggesting obese kids
breathe just as easily during sleep as normal weight children.
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- In the current study, Wing and colleagues observed 90
children during sleep, noting their weight and who among them experienced
breathing problems. Around one-half of the children were obese.
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- The authors found that obese children appeared to be
20 percent more likely to show signs of sleep apnea than normal weight
kids. Children with abnormally large tonsils appeared to increase the risk
of sleep-related breathing troubles almost 13-fold, the authors write in
the Archives of Disease in Childhood.
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- These findings suggest that obese children with enlarged
tissues in the back of their throats should be "aggressively managed,"
Wing and colleagues note.
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- The authors add that "the overall results suggest
a modest argument" in favor of screening kids for sleep apnea solely
on the basis of obesity.
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- Obese children with obviously enlarged tissues in the
back of the throat have a high risk of sleep-related breathing problems,
Wing and colleagues conclude.
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- SOURCE: Archives of Disease in Childhood, December 2003.
- © Reuters 2003. All Rights Reserved.
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