Sometimes it seems like the biggest challenge is not losing weight but keeping it off.

Associate Professor Craig Phillips from the University of Sydney suggests that one of the culprits may be sleep apnoea and that by treating the common condition people may be able to keep the weight off.

Dr Phillips’ research is supported by the Diabetes Australia Research Program.

“Unfortunately many people who lose weight will have difficulty keeping it off,” Dr Phillips says.

“This can be demoralising for people as well as hampering their ability to reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

“We suspect sleep apnoea may play a role. Sleep apnoea is a condition were people stop breathing during the night due to repeated collapsing of their upper airway causing oxygen levels in their blood to dip.

“Sleep apnoea has been linked to the development of insulin resistance which, in turn, contributes to type 2 diabetes.

“We want to see if sleep apnoea treatment helps to lose weight and keep it off and also whether it helps treat prediabetes at the same time.”

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