- “Fat’s role is that it can impede muscles that inflate and ventilate the lungs, forcing you to work harder to get enough air. When Australian researchers studied 313 patients with severe obesity, they found that 62 percent of them with a waist circumference of 49 inches or more had a serious sleep disturbance and that 28 percent of obese patients with smaller waists (35 to 49 inches) had sleep problems.” The New Abs Diet: The 6-Week Plan to Flatten Your Stomach and Keep You Lean for Life (The Abs Diet) (David Zinczenko and Ted Spiker). Page 14