Lack of Sleep may Lead to Obesity
October 10, 2005
A growing body of scientific evidence suggests that too little or erratic sleep may be taking an unappreciated toll on our health. Beyond leaving people bleary-eyed, failing to get enough sleep or sleeping at odd hours heightens the risk of obesity and a variety of major illnesses, including cancer, heart disease and diabetes according to recent studies.
A new study provides the latest evidence suggesting that America's obesity epidemic is being driven, at least in part, by a corresponding decrease in the average number of hours that Americans are sleeping, possibly by disrupting hormones that regulate appetite.
Columbia University researchers analyzed a nationally representative sample of nearly 10,000 adults and found that those between the ages of 32 and 49 who slept less than seven hours a night were significantly more likely to be obese.
The study follows a series of others that have found similar associations with illnesses, including several reports from the Harvard-run Nurses' Health Study that have linked insufficient or irregular sleep to increased risk for colon cancer, breast cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Other research groups have subsequently found clues that might explain the associations, indications that sleep disruption affects crucial hormones and proteins that play roles in these diseases.
Source:http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2002551236_sleep10.html
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