Researchers link lack of sleep with obesity in childrenKyodo News
A study tracking children over several years indicates that lack of sleep at a young age can lead to obesity as they get older.
According to the study, more children who had less than nine hours of sleep when they were 3 years old, compared with those who had more than 10 hours, became obese when they reached junior high and high school.
Among the academics involved in the study were Michikazu Sekine, an associate professor of public health at the University of Toyama, and Sadanobu Kagamimori, a professor of public health.
The study was launched in fiscal 1989 and targeted about 10,000 babies born that year. They discovered that relatively shorter sleep periods contributed to many of the children becoming obese.
Lack of exercise and an enriched diet are believed to be contributing factors to obesity in children. In the 1970s, the percentage of obese children was about 3 percent, but the figure has increased to more than 10 percent during and since the 1990s.
The babies in the study were all born in Toyama Prefecture and represented 1 percent of Japan's total that year. The children were assessed every three years until they became high school students.
The study is regarded as unusual because of its long duration and has gained attention as the "Toyama study."
It found that many 3-year-old children who had less than nine hours of sleep had become obese by the time they entered junior high and high school. By the time they reached junior high, the rate of obesity was 1.6 times more than among those who had more than 10 hours of sleep at age 3.
The study indicates that sleep deficiency in young children is linked to them becoming obese even if lack of exercise as a primary factor is excluded.
It also substantiates the importance of getting enough sleep on a daily basis. The professors compared changes in the hours of sleep among first-graders and fourth-graders.
Those who had more than eight hours of sleep every day were least likely to become obese, while 30 percent to 40 percent of the obese children were among those who had less than eight hours of sleep.
The saying "What youth is used to, age remembers" appears to apply to the children in the study. There was a tendency among some fourth-graders to go to sleep early, showing a habit obtained while they were 3 years old. Conversely, those who went to sleep late continued to do so.
Sekine said sleep affects the development of a child's mind, body and health through growth hormones and autonomic nerves.
Nevertheless, lack of sleep cannot be cited as the only cause of obesity. The first-graders in the study were asked such questions as whether their father and mother were overweight, whether they skipped breakfast, ate snacks once or twice a day, exercised, watched television for more than two hours, and had less than eight hours of sleep.
The professors gave one point for every affirmative answer. They learned that first-graders scoring zero stayed at 5 percent in the obesity rate when they advanced to fourth grade. Those scoring more than 4 points in the first grade rose to 22 percent in the obesity rate, indicating that many factors contribute to obesity.
Child obesity can lead to adult illnesses such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
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