Excessive body weight contributes to snoring and obstructive sleep apnea, in addition to being a major influence on general health and well-being. Obstructive sleep apnea occurs in about 50-60% of those who are obese.
A recent report from the National Center for Health Statistics concludes that seven of 10 adults don’t regularly exercise, and nearly four in 10 aren’t physically active. Lack of exercise can increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. About 300,000 people in the U.S. die each year from diseases related to inactivity.
Proper diet and exercise are the mainstays for a healthy lifestyle, although many Americans turn to costly fad diets and exercise programs that fail to provide weight loss and a healthy lifestyle. The basic tenets to gradual weight loss and good health include developing healthy eating habits and increasing daily physical activity.
Self-Help Guidelines For Healthy Activity:
- Consult a physician — men over age 40; women over 50; people with (or at risk for) chronic health problems such as heart disease, diabetes, or obesity.
- Start out slowly and build up activity gradually over a period of months. This will help avoid soreness and injury.
- Try to accumulate 30 minutes or more of moderate-intensity cardiovascular activity each day.You can do all 30 minutes together or through short bouts of intermittent activity(e.g. 10 minutes at a time).
- Add strength-developing exercises at least twice per week.
- Incorporate physical activity into your day (walk to the office or store, take the stairs instead of the elevator, walk or jog at lunch time, etc.).
- Make leisure time active – garden, walk, ride a bike with family and friends, participate in an exercise class, join in a sports activity.
- Select activities you enjoy, find satisfying, and give you a feeling of accomplishment. Success leads to increased motivation to be physically active.
- Be sure your activities are compatible with your age and physical condition.
- Make it convenient to be active. Choose activities that are readily accessible(right outside your door) like gardening, walking, or jogging.
- Try “active commuting.” Cycle, walk or in-line skate to work or to the store.
- Make your activity enjoyable – listen to music, include family and friends, etc.
For those who are already regularly moderately active, increase the duration and intensity for additional benefits.
Weight Loss Tips:
- Take in fewer calories than you expend. Few people understand this basic, simple concept.
- Eat smaller meals 3-5 times per day.
- Eat nutrient dense foods such as whole grains, lean proteins, fruits, and vegetables.
- Eat slowly, and wait 10-15 minutes before taking second helpings.
- Don’t eliminate everything you like from your diet. Eat those things in small amounts (pizza, candy, cookies, etc.)
- Prepare healthy snacks that are easily available (cut carrots, apples, etc.)
- Avoid buffets.
- Drink plenty of water, especially immediately prior to meals.
The Healthy Weight Approach To Dieting:
- Enjoy a variety of foods that will provide essential nutrients.
- Three-quarters of your lunch and dinner should be vegetables, fruits, cereals, breads, and other grain products. Snack on fruits and vegetables. Eat lots of dark green and orange vegetables. Choose whole-grain and enriched products more often.
- Choose lower fat dairy products, leaner meats and alternatives, and foods prepared with little or no fat. Shop for low fat (2% or less) or fat-free products such as milk, yogurt, and cottage cheese. Eat smaller portions of leaner meats, poultry, and fish; remove visible fat from meat and the skin from poultry. Limit the use of extra fat like butter, margarine, and oil. Choose more peas, beans, and lentils
- Limit salt, caffeine, and alcohol. Minimize the consumption of salt. Cut down on added sugar such as jams, etc. Limit beverages with a high caffeine content (tea, sodas, chocolate drinks) and caffeinated coffee to two cups per day. Minimize alcohol to 1-2 drinks per day.
- Limit consumption of snack foods such as cookies, donuts, pies, cakes, potato chips, etc. They are high in salt, sugar, fat, and calories, and low in nutritional value.
- Eat in moderation.If you are not hungry, don’t eat.
Ear
Autoimmune Inner Ear Disease
Buying a Hearing Aid
Child's Hearing Loss
Cholesteatoma
Cochlear Implants
Dizziness and Motion Sickness
Doctor, Please Explain Ear Tubes
Doctor? ¿Por Qué a Mi Hijo Le Duele El Oído?
Doctor? ¿Qué Causa El Ruido En El Oído?
Ear Infections and Earache
Ear Plastic Surgery
Ears and Altitude
Earwax
Fact Sheet: Better Ear Health
Fact Sheet: Hyperacusis -- An increased sensitivity to everyday sounds
Fact Sheet: Know the Power of Sound
Fact Sheet: What you should know about otosclerosis
Fact Sheet: Your Genes and Hearing Loss
How the Ear Works
Infant Hearing Loss
Loudness-Scale
Meniere's Disease
Noise & Hearing Protection
Perforated Eardrum
Swimmer's Ear
Tinnitus
Why Do We Fall?
Throat/Mouth
Coblation Tonsillectomy Download MP3 [26 MB]
Bell's Palsy
Doctor? ¿Para Qué Sirven Las Amígdalas Y Los Adenoides?
Fact Sheet: About Your Voice
Fact Sheet: Effects of Medications on Voice
Fact Sheet: Laryngeal (Voice Box) Cancer
Fact Sheet: Nodules, Polyps, and Cysts
Fact Sheet: Tips for Healthy Voices
Fact Sheet: Tonsillectomy Procedures
Fact Sheet: Vocal Cord Paralysis
Fact Sheet: Voice Disorders
Fever Blisters and Canker Sores
Gastroesphageal Reflux (GERD) & Laryngopharyngeal Reflux (LPR)
Hoarseness
Salivary Glands
Smell & Taste Disorders
Sore Throats
Swallowing Trouble
Temporo-Mandibular Joint
Tonsils and Adenoids
Head and Neck Surgery
Children and Secondhand Smoke
Ear Plastic Surgery
Facial Sports Injuries
Fine Needle Aspiration
Head and Neck Cancer
Nose Surgery FAQs
Spit Tobacco
Thyroid Gland
Cancer
Fact Sheet: Laryngeal (Voice Box) Cancer
Head and Neck Cancer
Spit Tobacco
Pediatric
Child's Hearing Loss
Children and Secondhand Smoke
Fact Sheet: Child Screening for Hearing Loss
Fact Sheet: Tonsillectomy Procedures
Infant Hearing Loss
Pediatric Sinusitis
Tonsils and Adenoids
About Otolaryngology
What Is An Otolaryngologist?
Nose
Airflow Pathway 1
Airflow Pathway 2
Allergies and Hay Fever
Antihistamines, Decongestants, and "Cold Remedies"
Cillary Flow of Mucous Membrane
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)
Diet and Exercise Tips to Avoid Sleep Apnea and Snoring
Drainage Path Close-Up
Drainage Paths of the Sinuses
Endoscopic Sinus Surgery 1
Endoscopic Sinus Surgery 2
Fact Sheet: 20 Questions about Your Sinuses
Fact Sheet: Allergic Rhinitis, Sinusitis, and Rhinosinusitis
Fact Sheet: Antibiotics and Sinusitis
Fact Sheet: Build Your Own Sinus Mask
Fact Sheet: Deviated Septum
Fact Sheet: Injection Snoreplasty
Fact Sheet: Sinus Surgery
Fact Sheet: Sinusitis: Special Considerations for Aging Patients
Front View of the Sinuses
Frontal Sinus Drainage Path 1
Frontal Sinus Drainage Path 2
Fungal Sinusitis
Inferior Turbinate Reduction
Laser Assisted Uvula Palatoplasty (LAUP)
Maxillary Sinus View 1
Maxillary Sinus View 2
Maxillary Sinus View 3
Middle Turbinate 1
Middle Turbinate 2 - Concha Bullosa
Middle Turbinate 3
Middle Turbinate 4
Nasal Polyps
Nasal Polyps 2
Nasal Septal Deviation 1
Nasal Septal Deviation 2
Naso-Antral Windows 1
Naso-Antral Windows 2
Normal Sinuses
Nose Surgery FAQs
Nosebleeds
Oblique View of the Sinuses
Pediatric Sinusitis
Post-Nasal Drip
Side View of the Sinuses
Sinus Headaches
Sinus Pain - Can Over-the-Counter Medications Help?
Sphenoid Sinus
Sphenoid Sinus, Carotid, Optic Nerve
Stuffy Nose
The "Ostio-Meatal" Complex 1
The "Ostio-Meatal" Complex 2
The Inferior Turbinate
The Inferior Turbinate, Close-Up
The Nasal Septum
Uncinate Process 1
Uncinate Process 2
What Causes Nosebleeds
What is Sinusitis?
Your Nose: The Guardian Of Your Lungs