Ra 4 Food - Health and Nutritional Tips

A US study has found that people who sleep for fewer than six hours a night – or more than nine – are more likely to be obese.

 The study took place over two years from 2004 and surveyed 87,000 people door-to-door. The information was gathered by the National Center for Health Statistics who are part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 The study also linked light sleepers to higher smoking rates, less physical activity and more alcohol use.

 This research, the largest of its kind, adds to a stream of studies that have found obesity and other health problems in those who don’t get proper sleep. Dr Ron Cramer, a Colorado physician and spokesman for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine said, “The data is all coming together that short sleepers and long sleepers don’t do so well.”

 The study’s lead author, Charlotte Schoenborn said, “Such surveys can’t prove cause-effect relationships, so — for example — it’s not clear if smoking causes sleeplessness or if sleeplessness prompts smoking”

 Smoking was highest for people who got under six hours of sleep, with 31 percent saying they were current smokers. Those who got nine or more hours were also smokers, with 26 percent smoking.

 About 33 percent of those who slept the less than six hours were obese and 26 percent for those who got nine or more. Normal sleepers were the thinnest group with obesity at 22 percent.

 Those who slept the more than nine hours were found to have the highest alcohol intake, however alcohol use for those who slept seven to eight hours was similar.

 James Gangwich, a respected sleep researcher at Columbia University noted, “Other studies have found inadequate sleep is tied to appetite-influencing hormone imbalances and a higher incidence of diabetes and high blood pressure…We’re getting to the point that they may start recommending getting enough sleep as a standard approach to weight loss and the prevention of obesity.”