Lack of sleep linked to teenage obesity

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24428778-23289,00.html

LACK of sleep may be fuelling the increase in overweight and obese teenagers by
causing hormonal changes.

That is the conclusion of researchers who surveyed more than 4000 children aged
9 to 18 and found a strong association between the length of time children slept
and how fat they were.

The research shows for the first time that the relationship affects all weight
groups, with the most underweight children sleeping the most, and overweight
children getting the least sleep.

The sleep deficit among obese and overweight children was concentrated on
certain days, researchers found.

The study, to be presented at the Australasian Sleep Conference in Adelaide
tomorrow, is the first large study of Australian children's sleep patterns.

Lead researcher Tim Olds, from the University of South Australia, said the
overall difference between the weight groups meant that obese children were
sleeping an average of 20 minutes less each night than underweight children.

But there was little difference midweek, and almost all the gap occurred at the
weekend, when the obese children were losing just over one hour of sleep on
Sunday night. "What this tells us is that it's very unlikely that it's the
obesity that's causing the low-duration sleep, for two reasons," Professor Olds
said.

"If there's something about obesity that's causing low-duration sleep, you would
expect it to happen every night, but it doesn't."

While a third factor could be causing both the obesity and the low sleep, such
as lack of exercise and excessive TV or computer use, the results pointed away
from this explanation, he said.

"It seems very likely that it's the low sleep duration that's contributing to
obesity, probably through various hormonal mechanisms that we know are
associated with sleep deprivation."

"Anarchic" household structures and habits may be allowing children to miss out
on sleep on Sunday nights, when they tended to go to bed later but had to rise
early for school the next day.

Louise Baur, professor of pediatrics at The Children's Hospital at Westmead,
Sydney, said the study would break new ground if it showed that lack of sleep
caused obesity, rather than vice versa.

"I encourage parents of young people, and young people themselves, to recognise
that healthy sleep patterns are good for all sorts of things, including weight,
but also mental health and academic performance," Professor Baur said.

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