People with sleep
disorders may have an increased chance of becoming
obese, according to new research.
A study by a team of scientists working at the University of Chicago found that
poor quality sleep can impact on weight-related factors such as appetite
regulation, inhibit glucose metabolism and increase a person's blood pressure.
"Obesity develops when energy intake is greater than expenditure. Diet and
physical activity play an important part in this, but an additional factor may
be inadequate sleep," said Dr Kirsten Knutson, who worked on the report.
The results show that anyone who regularly gets less than six hours sleep a
night could be affected, but the correlation is particularly high among
children and adolescents.
Now that a link has been established, Dr Knutson believes further research
should be conducted to ascertain if regular sleeping patterns can aid obesity
treatment or prevent the development of associated conditions.
© Adfero Ltd
Obesity surgery news : 22 April 2012
