How Body Shape Can Help Detect Sleep Apnea Risk
Share
Introduction
Most people know that being overweight increases the risk of health problems like diabetes and heart disease. But what many don't realize is that body shape—especially belly fat—can also raise the risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a condition where breathing stops and starts during sleep. A new study now shows that a measurement called the Body Roundness Index (BRI) could be a better tool than Body Mass Index (BMI) to detect people who are at risk of OSA.
What Is Obstructive Sleep Apnea?
OSA is a sleep disorder where the upper airway becomes blocked during sleep, causing loud snoring, gasping, or even breathing pauses. It often leads to poor sleep quality, excessive daytime sleepiness, and long-term health risks like high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease. While obesity is a well-known risk factor, this new study focuses on how where the fat is located on the body might matter even more than how much there is overall.
Introducing the Body Roundness Index (BRI)
Unlike BMI, which only looks at height and weight, BRI also considers waist size. This makes it better at identifying central obesity—fat around the belly and organs—which has been linked more closely with sleep apnea. BRI gives us a clearer picture of how much visceral fat (fat stored deep in the body) a person has. That type of fat is believed to play a major role in OSA.
The Study: What Was Done and What Was Found
The study used health data from nearly 9,500 U.S. adults collected between 2005–2008 and 2015–2018. Participants were divided into low- and high-risk groups for OSA based on their answers to three key questions about snoring, gasping for air during sleep, and daytime sleepiness.
Here’s what the researchers found:
- People with higher BRI scores were much more likely to be at risk for OSA.
- Even after adjusting for other health issues like diabetes, high blood pressure, and cholesterol, the link between BRI and OSA remained strong.
- In fact, people in the highest BRI group were more than three times as likely to be at risk for sleep apnea compared to those in the lowest group.
- Among people who were in the normal weight range according to BMI, BRI still helped identify who might be at risk—something BMI alone often misses.
Why Is This Important?
BMI is often used in health checkups to estimate body fat, but it doesn’t always tell the full story. Many people with a “healthy” BMI may still carry dangerous belly fat. This study shows that BRI can be a more accurate tool, especially when looking for hidden risks like sleep apnea in people who don’t appear overweight.
Also, OSA often goes undiagnosed because people don’t know they have it. It’s usually only noticed when a partner complains of snoring or a doctor checks for related issues. Using BRI in regular health checks could help catch OSA earlier—before it leads to bigger problems.
Who Is Most at Risk?
The study found that the connection between BRI and sleep apnea was strongest in people who:
- Were non-smokers
- Did not have high blood pressure
- Were married or living with a partner
- Had lower levels of good cholesterol (HDL)
Even people who didn’t seem to have other health problems were at risk if their BRI was high. This suggests that doctors should consider measuring waist size along with weight and height in all adults—not just those who look overweight.
How BRI Could Be Used in the Future
There are already screening tools for sleep apnea, such as the STOP-BANG questionnaire, but most of them rely on BMI. The results from this study suggest that adding BRI to these tools could improve their accuracy, especially for people who don’t fit the usual profile of someone at risk for sleep apnea.
Since BRI is easy to calculate (just waist size and height), it could be used widely—even in places with limited medical equipment.
Conclusion: A Simple Shape Measure with Big Impact
This study adds to growing evidence that how fat is stored in your body matters more than how much you weigh. The Body Roundness Index gives a clearer picture of health risks like obstructive sleep apnea—especially for people who might otherwise be missed using BMI alone.
If you're concerned about sleep quality or health risks linked to your weight, talk to your doctor about checking your BRI. It’s a simple step that could help you catch problems early—and sleep better at night.