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Does lack of sleep lead to obesity in kids?
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A new study published today in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine suggests a link between lack of sleep and obesity. Researchers studied 915 children at six months, a year and two years as well as interviewed their parents to collect the data.
According to the research, the less sleep an infant received at these ages the more likely he or she was to be overweight by the age of three. Another indicative factor considered was how much television the children were allowed to watch a day. The correlation there was the opposite: the more television watched the more likely the child was to be overweight.
Infants who slept less than twelve hours a day were twice as likely as their well-rested counterparts to be overweight by age three. Variables such as birthweight and breastfeeding were taken into consideration, yet the relationship still held despite these variables. Lead author of the study Dr. Elsie M. Taveras, who can also claim the title of assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard suggested parents keep the television out of the bedroom and avoid caffeinated beverages to promote good sleep habits.
I myself have tried to really solidify a good nightime routine with Mr. Pickles. We did that from day one, and, though at times it was tough and we didn't always have faith it was going to work, everything finally paid off. We turn down the lights, change his outfit, read him Goodnight Moon, sing to him, and then put him down and tuck him in. It took a lot of training for us to get that right and for him to trust in that, but once he was secure with that process he slept like a little angel.
Pic of sleeping baby by majorvols.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
4-07-2008 @ 10:29PM
Karen said...I can definitely believe it. In spite of raising them all the same lifestyle and nutrition wise, my now 6 year old who would not sleep no matter what as a young baby is by far my heaviest child. Since he is older and sleeps more, coincidentally enough his weight gain has leveled off and he is no longer as large as he once was.
I personally cannot lose weight when my babies wake up many times a night, as my body shows a stress response from this.
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4-07-2008 @ 10:31PM
ame s said...I think obesity is more due to consuming more calories than one burns off in a day. Ten hours of sleep is great, but pair it with a scrambled and eggs breakfast, happy meal lunch, and mac & cheese for dinner = weight problem.
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4-07-2008 @ 10:42PM
emjaybee said...ame s, obesity has never been as simple as "calories in/calories out." Fat is an organ of the body, like skin, that releases hormones, and we do not really understand how it interacts with the rest of our body, or why some people stay slim no matter what and some don't. So it's not unlikely that lack of sleep causes a stress response that triggers fat growth.
As far as the article goes, it puts me in a quandry. My child refuses to sleep earlier than 8pm and we have to get him up by 7 to leave the house. We've tried everything, but that seems to be his rhythm, and he usually does sleep a little later on weekends.
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4-07-2008 @ 10:56PM
Meagan said...Does he nap? I never did as a kid, but it's a thought. If that's a no-go you might just try "quiet time" for an hour before bedtime... maybe he'll drop off when he gets used to it? I was never a good sleeper and I was never obese as a kid so I wouldn't worry about it too much... a correlation is not an inevitability, your kid may not be able to sleep more because that might be the right amount of sleep for him.
4-08-2008 @ 12:00AM
Sabrina said...I don't know about this one, ask me again in a few years. My 3 y/o DD is NOT a sleeper. She gave up her second nap at 4 months old, and all her naps by age 2, and has never slept a full night in her life (unless she's very very sick). She's exactly average for her age. 3 years old, 3 feet tall, and 30lbs. We'll see what happens in time.
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4-08-2008 @ 11:48AM
Jessica said...Very well written post, Jennifer. Professional and researched, I like it.
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4-08-2008 @ 12:26PM
Jen said...Hmm...maybe there is something to this. My child is almost three and he is very thin. He is in the 10% and has been since 3 months old. He eats two bowls of cereal, a banana and a large glass of 2% milk for breakfast. Or, 3 scrambled eggs, toast and butter, orange slices and a large glass of milk. He loves yogurt and apples and green beans and cucumbers but he does eat a lot of protien and fats. My doctor had me put olive oil into his baby food to fatten him up. It didn't work. This kid also naps 2 hours a day and sleeps for 12 in the night. So maybe his great sleep habits have outfitted him with a great metabolism. Maybe I should start sleeping all the time too.
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4-08-2008 @ 1:15PM
isisaquaria said...BS-- I have 12yo and 5yo who do not sleep-one eats well the other not at all-they are both tiny and have been for yrs. I have never had a child sleep more than 8hrs and that is pushing it-neither were even at ave weight by 3, one still @almost 6 is outweighed by most 3yr olds.
It has to do more with genetics, diet, activity level...my girls do not sit still (even when they sleep-it is like trying to sleep w/ a kangaroo) I am sure that sleep has an affect on your overall health, but I think the article is somewhat off base.
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4-08-2008 @ 3:36PM
Judy said...I think there's some relationship, sure, but nothing is ever as straightforward as "lack of sleep=obestiy" or whatever.
My daughter was always a pretty good sleeper, and is thin as a rail and always has been. My boys are both healthy weights, but the younger is the better sleeper and is tiny. My 4 yo is a *nightmare* at bedtime. We just can't get anything to work. It was finally going mostly okay, and he started having nightmares they sometimes keep him up half the night, and he doesn't want to go to sleep for fear he'll have more!!!! ACK!!!
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4-17-2008 @ 8:32PM
Nicole said...I just found ParentDish, so I'm new here. Hi! I was skeptical about this article at first, but then I dug deeper about the circadian rhythms and how our bodies regulate appetite and it was pretty interesting. We all get a spike of ghrelin (hormone that sparks hunger) in the middle of the night and when we don't sleep, the leptin levels (hormone that signals fullness) go down. I just wrote up about this in my own blog post about how sleep might affect obesity. I still think diet and exercise are a HUGE part, though.
Here's my blog post if you're interested. :-)
http://picknicksbrain.com/2008/04/14/dont-sleep-be-fatmaybe/
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