Waking Up to the Problem of OSA: Consequences and Improved Recognition

Another "fat people are a safety hazard to the rest of us" alert.

The risks posed by fat people are not limited to airplanes anymore.

You are now roadkill in the making.

"Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep-related breathing disorder (SRBD) characterized by partial/complete airway obstruction resulting in suspended breathing."

Who gets it?

"Associated risk factors include being male, older age, high BMI, hypertension, family history, and having a large neck circumference and/or a narrowed airway."

Basically, fat people, since the risks are those of being fat and the consequences of being fat.

What does OSA cause?

Untreated OSA is associated with serious societal and personal consequences. The cardinal symptom of OSA is excessive sleepiness, which can interfere with daily activities and heighten the risk of motor vehicle crashes.

"Motor vehicle crashes."

Anything the rest of us end up paying for?

OSA is associated with numerous medical comorbidities, with the most compelling data exhibiting a link between OSA and hypertension.

So we pay for the self-caused illnesses of these leeches.

Anything else associated with this basically-a-fat-person's problem?

Classic symptoms during sleep include loud snoring, gasping/choking, and severely fragmented sleep, whereas waking symptoms include excessive sleepiness, cognitive difficulties, and mood swings.

"Cognitive difficulties."

Those are problems "pertaining to the mental processes of perception, memory, judgment, and reasoning, as contrasted with emotional and volitional processes."

Problems thinking.

Not uncommonly seen in stupid people.

Stupid with fat people is a Midol matter - stupid happens to fat people before, during and after they are fat.

It's enough to make fit people lose sleep over.