Effects of a One-Year Intensified Weight Loss Program on Body Composition Parameters in Patients with Severe Obesity and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA): A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Studies focusing on the effects of lifestyle strategies on patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) that go beyond body weight and explore body composition are currently scarce and inconclusive. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a 12-month intensive life intervention program (ILI), based on a hypocaloric Mediterranean diet, on changes in the body composition parameters as assessed by abdominal computed tomography (CT) and the cardiorespiratory profile of patients with severe OSA and grade I-II obesity, compared to patients receiving standard care. Resultts:Thirty-four patients (30 males and four females) were randomly assigned to an intervention group (IG) ( = 18) or a control group (CG) (n = 16). We observed an improvement in OSA severity following the intervention. Patients in the IG lost 8.2% of their body weight compared to 0.1% of the patients in the CG ( < 0.001), and this loss was primarily due to reductions in total body fat, visceral adipose tissue index (VATI) [IG -19.4 (18.1) cm/m versus CG 2.32 (11.6) cm/m, < 0.001], and a tendency toward lower intramuscular adipose tissue index (IMATI) [IG -0.69 (0.85) cm/m versus CG 0.04 (1.3) cm/m, = 0.098]. These changes were associated with an improvement in patients' metabolic and inflammatory profile. Younger age and a higher degree of obesity at baseline were associated with greater weight loss. Conslusions: In conclusion, the ILI was effective in reducing 8.2% of body weight at 12 months, leading to favorable changes in patients' body composition profile that resulted in healthier metabolic and inflammatory parameters.