NBC’s reality show The Biggest Loser has adjusted their pre-show medical work-ups to include a sleep study, and the results have been striking. Physicians found that a majority of the contestants had sleep apnea, and in one season every single cast member had a positive sleep apnea diagnosis! The Biggest Loser doctors used to talk about the three pillars of health – psychological, healthy eating and healthy exercise. Now they’ve added a fourth pillar called “sleep optimization.”

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A recent study from Boston University’s school of medicine found that obstructive sleep apnea is linked to an increased risk of heart failure and coronary heart disease in middle-aged and older men. 1,927 men and 2,495 women over 40 were monitored for the study.

“Men with obstructive sleep apnea were 58% more likely to develop new congestive heart failure over eight years of follow up compared to men without sleep apnea,” stated Daniel Gottlieb, the study’s author. He continued, “There is a lot of undiagnosed sleep apnea, and that, at least in men; it is associated with the development of coronary heart disease and heart failure. Only about 10% of sleep apnea cases are diagnosed”

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