5. Overweight and Obesity: The Unseen Pressure on the Airway
Advertisements
Advertisements
Carrying extra weight, especially around the neck, exerts additional pressure on the throat, making it more prone to collapsing and causing snoring.
A thicker neck can mean a narrower airway, making it harder for air to flow freely. This reduced passage forces the surrounding tissues to vibrate more vigorously, producing the characteristic snore.
Individuals with reduced muscle tone combined with increased fat around the throat are at a higher risk. Fat can encroach upon the airway, while poor muscle tone fails to keep the airway fully open.
Fat deposition around the abdomen, often termed as visceral fat, has been associated with sleep disordered breathing. It can impede diaphragm movement, affecting the overall breathing process. (5)
