Shallow breathing in overweight person in early 60s

Lately I am worried since I noticed that my father's breathing sounded shallow. It's not something one would notice unless was listening up close. But it sounds bad enough to be concerned. I've also noticed that this usually is more noticeable when he is tired and feeling sleepy, or if I listen to it and he only just sat down prior to minor exertion. I also know that he has sleep apnea, snores a lot and gets fatigued easily.

Other than my father's large overweight abdominal fat, he is in good health and physically strong. Is the shallow breathing I hear a cause for concern such as approaching death/stroke/heart attack etc? My father is also a very stressful person.

Obviously after hearing the shallow breathing, I've told him that not dieting and not exercising is not a luxury anymore and that he needs to lose that weight and unload the pressure from the lungs. He would need to lose 30 Kg to be at the appropriate weight for his height.

Also, if my father succeeded to lose the weight would the shallow breathing be cured? Or is this the sign of aging?

MikeGore wrote:Lately I am worried since I noticed that my father's breathing sounded shallow. It's not something one would notice unless was listening up close. But it sounds bad enough to be concerned. I've also noticed that this usually is more noticeable when he is tired and feeling sleepy, or if I listen to it and he only just sat down prior to minor exertion. I also know that he has sleep apnea, snores a lot and gets fatigued easily.

Other than my father's large overweight abdominal fat, he is in good health and physically strong. Is the shallow breathing I hear a cause for concern such as approaching death/stroke/heart attack etc? My father is also a very stressful person.

Obviously after hearing the shallow breathing, I've told him that not dieting and not exercising is not a luxury anymore and that he needs to lose that weight and unload the pressure from the lungs. He would need to lose 30 Kg to be at the appropriate weight for his height.

Also, if my father succeeded to lose the weight would the shallow breathing be cured? Or is this the sign of aging?

Poor diet and lack of exercise brings on aging. It's not something that is inevitable with the passage of years. Unfortunately, most people expect they will deteriorate, so this plays out in
their experience.

The abdominal fat is a marker of inflammation more than anything else. It is a warning sign of more health issues to come if he doesn't lose it.
http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2012/07/17/gut-check-the-link-between-belly-fat-and-inflammation/

I'm in my 60's. I lost 30 lbs or so in the last year, since around spring, just by following a Warrior-type diet and eating very healthfully in general. Intermittent fasting really works!