Snoring and Obesity: Is Your Throat Fat?

There are lots of people who snore. There are also lots of people who are overweight. What most people don’t realize is that there is a connection between these two. Can snoring make you fat? Yes, it can be a contributing factor but that isn’t what I’m going to tell you about. I’m going to tell you how being overweight can make you snore.

Why Weight Affects Snoring

When you are overweight you have excess body fat both inside and outside. Too many people never think about the fat on the inside, but it affects you just as much. In this case fat can build up on the inside of the throat. This alone can partially block your airway and not just during sleep either.

Any extra bulk in this area is a bad thing. It gets worse though. When you sleep the extra fat tissue puts pressure on the structures of the throat. This leads to further constriction.

You may already know that excess body fat has an effect on your muscles. This is true for both internal and external fat. However, the effect is the same. All of that extra weight that doesn’t support itself saps the strength from your muscles.

In your throat this means that the muscles there will not be as tight as they should be. When the muscles of the throat are loose you are much more likely to snore. Keep in mind that this is in addition to the blockage and extra pressure that the fat tissue already causes.

It is also worth noting that all of the tissues in the throat become softer when you’re overweight. Softer throat tissues and loose muscles are two of the main reasons that older people are so prone to snoring. When you add softened tissues and loose muscles to partial blockage and extra pressure on the airway, you’re almost guaranteed to snore.

Options

If you are severely overweight then you may not be able to find something that keeps you from snoring completely right away. However, there are several options available that can help. The first would be to simply lose weight. This is easier said than done in most cases but it is still one of the best ways to go in terms of overall benefits.

If you decide to go with weight loss as a possible solution there are many further choices that you will have to make. For example, do you want to follow a special diet or would you rather just cut calories? Also, what kind of exercise would you like to do? I always recommend picking something that you at least moderately enjoy so that it is easier to stick to your schedule.

Although low-carb diets are pretty popular these days, low-fat diets are actually the best option for a lot of people. When you are on a low-fat diet it seems that less exercise is necessary for weight loss. As far as exercise goes, usually a mix of cardio and some weighted exercises works the best.

Anti-snoring devices can help if you’re overweight. They won’t solve the problem, only weight loss can solve that. The point is they will help. Normally I recommend a tongue retaining mouthpiece to most people. They seem to give the best results while also being comfortable and carrying no real risks.

One other suggestion I have for you is to try sleeping on your side. This helps most people at least cut down how much they snore. If you’re overweight I can’t guarantee that this will work but it should help nonetheless.

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