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Wednesday, August 31, 2011

OBESITY: LACK OF SLEEP MAKES CHILDREN OBESE

Children that do not get enough sleep, have increased chances of becoming obese.
When children get a good night's sleep, they decrease the chances of becoming obese in adulthood, as a new study indicates. 
The researchers found that, among more than one thousand people, who were followed from birth until they were 32 years old, those who got less sleep as children, were more likely to become obese. Even taking into account other factors such as weight during childhood and other daily habits e.g. watching TV, exercising, there is still a strong correlation between sleep deprivation during childhood and the risk of obesity in adulthood. 
All of the aforementioned confirm the speculation that sleeping habits in childhood have long term effects on our weight and can lead to obesity. Although researchers cannot yet prove that the cause of obesity in adulthood is sleep deprivation during childhood, this study provides strong evidence that things are so.
Moreover, other studies have already found that both adults and children who are sleep deprived, are at greater risk of being obese. This, however, is the first study that shows a long term relationship between sleep deprivation and obesity risk. 
The participants of the study included 1,037 men and women who were followed from birth (1972 and 1973) till their 32nd year. When the participants were five, seven, nine and eleven years old, their parents reported their sleeping patterns to the researchers. What the researchers found was that as the sleeping time during childhood decreased, the body mass index (BMI) increased. Adults with few hours of sleep during childhood, clearly had higher BMI than those who had enough sleep during childhood. 
It is noteworthy that this was not because the children got only a few hours' sleep but because they got used to sleeping for a few hours as adults as well. In other words, adequate sleep during childhood seems to have lasting consequences. Experts advise parents of young children to make sure that these sleep even up to 11 hours a day, while teenagers need to sleep 8-9 hours. 
Nowadays, it is common knowledge that children sleep far less that the generation that preceded them. This trend, is directly linked to obesity. 
But how are limited hours of sleep linked to obesity? One theory that could explain the correlation of few hours of sleep and obesity is that sleep deprivation alters the normal balance of the hormones that stimulate the appetite and the hormones that suppress the appetite. Furthermore, children who sleep less, are already feeling very tired to undertake physical activity. All of these, may very well lead to obesity. 
The research was conducted by scientists at the University of Otago, New Zealand and was published in the journal Pediatrics
TAKE IT FROM http://www.bukisa.com/articles/542559_obesity-lack-of-sleep-makes-children-obese

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