Effects of Weight Loss Through Diet and Exercise on Sleep Apnea Severity and Cardiovascular Risk in Older Adults

Frailty, a condition characterized by a decrease in physiological reserve and increased risk for adverse health-related outcomes, is an increased risk of aging, especially in the presence of co-morbid conditions. Sleep apnea is also highly prevalent with increasing age. Both conditions share common pathologies, suggesting that sleep apnea may increase the risk of developing or exacerbate the consequences of frailty. Lifestyle interventions as strategies for treating sleep apnea and associated co-morbidities, thereby highlighting a feasible approach by which to reduce the incidence or progression of frailty. The specific aims of this study are to: 1) determine the effectiveness of a lifestyle intervention (LI), consisting of a weight loss diet and supervised exercise, on reducing sleep apnea in older adults, and 2) determine whether this intervention is effective at improving parameters that are common to both sleep apnea and frailty, such as poor physical functional capacity and body composition, impaired or abnormal cardiometabolic function and increased levels of inflammation.