Sleep deficit unlikely to affect weight over time
Regularly getting 5 hours or less of shut eye a night does not appear to have a considerable influence body weight or waist size over time, according to findings from a long-term study of British workers.
By Agencies |
NEW YORK: Regularly getting 5 hours or less of shut eye a night does not appear to have a considerable influence body weight or waist size over time, according to findings from a long-term study of British workers. While some past research has identified a relationship between obesity and a lack of sleep, this research could not affirm which came first ��� the lack of sleep or the weight problem.
To clarify whether lack of sleep over time might be related to obesity, Francesco P Cappuccio and colleagues analysed information from more than 10,000 white-collar British civil servants participating in a long term forward-looking study called the Whitehall II study.
The men and women were first had their health assessed between 1985 and 1988 when they were between 35 and 55 years old. They were subsequently assessed every two years thereafter.
Cappuccio and his colleagues analysed sleep duration and obesity indicators of 5,021 participants during the 1997 to 1999 assessment.
The investigators identified a 65% increased risk of obesity among people sleeping less than 5 hours a night. But when they measured body weight and waist circumference again between 2003 and 2004 among 3,786 of these men and women who were not obese during the earlier assessment, they found no significant association.
between sleep duration and future changes in body weight or waist circumference.
To clarify whether lack of sleep over time might be related to obesity, Francesco P Cappuccio and colleagues analysed information from more than 10,000 white-collar British civil servants participating in a long term forward-looking study called the Whitehall II study.
The men and women were first had their health assessed between 1985 and 1988 when they were between 35 and 55 years old. They were subsequently assessed every two years thereafter.
Cappuccio and his colleagues analysed sleep duration and obesity indicators of 5,021 participants during the 1997 to 1999 assessment.
The investigators identified a 65% increased risk of obesity among people sleeping less than 5 hours a night. But when they measured body weight and waist circumference again between 2003 and 2004 among 3,786 of these men and women who were not obese during the earlier assessment, they found no significant association.
between sleep duration and future changes in body weight or waist circumference.
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Taken together, these findings suggest that short duration of sleep might represent a risk marker as opposed to a causative factor for obesity, the researchers conclude in the latest issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.Download
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