Obesity Crisis May Be Fueling Big Jump in Sleep Apnea Cases

The widening American waistline may be feeding an epidemic of sleep apnea, potentially robbing millions of people of a good night's rest, a new study suggests. The research didn't definitively link the rise in obesity to sleep apnea, and it only looked at 1,520 people, almost all white, in Wisconsin. But study author Paul Peppard believes the findings show a big spike in sleep apnea cases over the past two decades -- as much as 55 percent -- and may translate to the entire United States. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_136710.html