By IANS
Washington : Children who get inadequate sleep regularly are at risk of becoming overweight, particularly if they are between six to 12 years old, a new US study has shown.
Insufficient sleep changes the way the body uses carbohydrates, leading to changes in glucose tolerance, which can affect weight. Day and night rhythms are also known to affect glucose and insulin levels, the study found.
Levels of leptin, a hormone that helps to control appetite and metabolism, are also affected, says the study that highlights why enough sleep is essential for children.
Researchers from the University of Michigan’s Center for Human Growth and Development looked at the data on reported body mass index (BMI) – a measure of obesity that relates body weight to height, sleep problems and sleep duration for 785 children aged nine to 12.
The researchers found that children who slept for fewer than nine hours a day were at increased risk of being overweight. This was unaffected by sex, race, socio-economic status or quality of their home environment, reported health portal Medical News Today.
According to the US National Sleep Foundation, pre-schoolers should get 11 to 13 hours of sleep a night, elementary school children between 10 and 12 hours, pre-teens nine to 11 hours and teenagers should get 8.5 to nine hours of sleep a night.