May 24, 2006 -- Studies See Link Between Sleep Loss and Obesity

A report in today's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association notes that while it’s "far from conclusive" that lack of sleep contributes to weight gain and obesity, we do know that Americans are sleeping fewer hours per night at the same time that obesity is increasing. A study has shown that individuals with "partial sleep deprivation," meaning they slept less than seven hours a night, had higher body mass index (BMI) and were more likely to be obese than persons who reported sleeping seven hours or more, researchers pointed out; and studies first reported in 1999 show partial sleep deprivation disrupts edocrine, metablic, and immune function. The researchers explained that sleep loss alters the ability of leptin (a hunger-suppressing hormone) to accurately signal caloric need and increases appetite for high-carbohydrate calorie-dense foods such as cake, chips, and bread. That fact, along with other aspects of the environment, including lack of opportunities for exercise in schools and elsewhere and air-conditioning that keeps people inactive indoors for long periods of time, may be contributing to current rises in obesity, they said. The article, "Rx for Obesity: Eat Less, Exercise More and—Maybe—Get More Sleep," appears in the May 24/31 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.