Sleep Apnea Awareness is a Big Winner on The Biggest Loser
I recently spoke with on NBC 10's dramatic reality weight-loss program, The Biggest Loser. His facility, Advanced Sleep Medicine Services, is the show's official provider for sleep testing.
Many contestants come in weighing 350 or 400 pounds with sleep studies revealing an apnea-hypopnea index of more than 100 and desaturation levels in the 50s or 60s, he said. But by the time they leave, those stats show a dramatic change.
"You CPAP them, improve their lifestyle, they lose the weight, we test again and boom, their health is remarkably better," Dr. Mostafavi said. "I'm a pulmonary and sleep specialist so I've done my share of helping people and saving lives, but this is an amazing thing."
He also believes the show's choice to involve sleep specialists has had a dramatically impact on viewers at home who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea. "Patients come in and say, ‘Oh I saw you what you did for the people on The Biggest Loser, do it for us,'" Dr. Mostafavi said. "People see it, they believe it, and other than education, it sparks enthusiasm in people to seek attention for sleep apnea - that awareness wasn't there five years ago."
So how does a sleep facility become the to-go choice for a primetime network show? It's all about the quality, according to Dr. Mostafavi, who's been implementing the newest technologies in sleep medicine since 1990 when the specialty was not nearly as widely recognized. He has remained at the forefront of sleep medicine by teaching, researching, and practicing new concepts.
To read about the latest technology Advanced Sleep Medicine Services has used to boost its business model, read
The Digital Sleep Revolution.