Lack of rest ''doesn''t heighten obesity risk''
01/08/2011
Failing to rest for long enough in children's beds will not have as much impact on kids' weight as initially thought, researchers have claimed.
Led by Murdoch Children's Research Institute in Victoria, the study found that the majority of the 133 obese adolescents aged between 10 and 16 years did not get the required amount of sleep.
Meanwhile, more than 50 per cent experienced a breathing disorder while sleeping and around a quarter suffered from metabolic syndrome, reports the AAP.
Lead author Dr Valerie Sung explained that no relationship was found between sleep duration and body mass index within the group of participants.
She added: "The message for doctors is to be careful if an obese teenager sees you. You need to be careful recommending pushing getting more sleep because it may not help."
Experts from Stanford University recently revealed that anyone who regularly has their sleep interrupted is likely to suffer memory loss.
Posted by Michael Ewing
