Sleep, obesity and physicians’ education

More than two thirds of the US population is obese or overweight, with worldwide obesity rates doubling since 1980. Obesity causes serious health risks including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer (1). It is also associated with respiratory conditions like obesity hypoventilation syndrome, asthma and obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Obesity causes a 6-fold increase in OSA prevalence (2) and over the last two decades, has caused a rise in the prevalence of OSA to 10% in middle-aged male subjects (3).