BRISTOL, England, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- The increase in British and U.S. childhood obesity may be fueled by children not getting enough sleep, according to a University of Bristol study.
Dr. Shahrad Taheri of the University of Bristol blames the increasing availability of computers, cell phones, TVs and other gadgets on the diminishing nightly quota of sleep and suggests they should be banned from children's bedrooms.
There is emerging research that shows that shorter sleep duration disturbs normal metabolism, which may contribute to obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, according to Taheri.
Another study indicated that insufficient sleep at the age of 30 months was associated with obesity at the age of 7, suggesting that this could program the part of the brain regulating appetite and energy expenditure, says Taheri.
Taheri says that other research shows that levels of leptin, a hormone produced by fat tissue when energy stores are low, were more than 15 percent lower in those sleeping five hours compared with those sleeping eight hours.
Poor sleep sets up a vicious cycle. It leads to fatigue, which leads to reduced levels of physical activity -- which leads to lower energy expenditure -- which leads to obesity -- which itself leads to poor sleep, according to the paper in the British Medical Journal printed ahead of the Archives of Disease in Childhood.
