Snoring linked to calories burned

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- People who snore may burn more calories while resting, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, said.

Dr. Eric J. Kezirian of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues assessed the resting energy expenditure in 212 adults with signs or symptoms of sleep-related breathing disorders.

Resting energy expenditure, or the number of calories burned while resting, is one component of total daily energy expenditure, Kezirian said.

The participants' medical history was taken, they underwent a physical examination, sleep monitoring through polysomnography -- a diagnostic tool in sleep medicine -- and determination of resting energy expenditure using a device known as an indirect calorimeter. The calorimeter measures oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production, which can be used to determine resting energy expenditure in calories per day.

Among the 212 participants, the average resting energy expenditure was 1,763 calories per day.

The study, published in the Archives of Otolaryngology -- Head & Neck Surgery, found those who scored the highest on a scale of disruptions in breathing had a resting energy expenditure of 1,999, while those who scored the lowest expended an average of 1,626 calories per day resting.

Obesity is a major risk factor for the development of sleep-disordered breathing, and changes in body weight are associated with changes in sleep-disordered breathing severity, the study authors said.