Young adults who either get little or too much sleep may see a greater expansion in their waistlines over time.
Young adults who either get little or too much sleep may see a greater expansion in their waistlines over time.
To study the relationship between sleep patterns and abdominal fat, researchers followed 332 African-American and 775 Hispanic-American men and women aged between 18 and 81 years. The participants reported about their sleep habits, diets, exercise levels and other lifestyle factors. The researchers used CT scans to measure participants' abdominal fat, at the start of the study and again five years later.
Among participants younger than 40 years, it was found, those who said they slept for five hours or less each night gained more belly fat than those who averaged six or seven hours of sleep. On average, short sleepers showed a 32 percent gain in visceral fat, versus a 13 percent gain among those who slept six or seven hours per night, and a 22 percent increase among men and women who got at least eight hours of sleep each night. A similar pattern was seen with superficial abdominal fat. Even when the researchers considered factors like calorie intake, exercise habits, education and smoking, sleep duration itself remained linked to abdominal-fat gain.
The findings support the belief that sleep habits affect weight and health in general. The study does not prove that too little or too much sleep directly leads to excess fat gain. But the findings support and extend those of other studies linking sleep duration - particularly a lack of sleep - to weight gain and even to higher risks of diabetes and heart disease.
To study the relationship between sleep patterns and abdominal fat, researchers followed 332 African-American and 775 Hispanic-American men and women aged between 18 and 81 years. The participants reported about their sleep habits, diets, exercise levels and other lifestyle factors. The researchers used CT scans to measure participants' abdominal fat, at the start of the study and again five years later.
Among participants younger than 40 years, it was found, those who said they slept for five hours or less each night gained more belly fat than those who averaged six or seven hours of sleep. On average, short sleepers showed a 32 percent gain in visceral fat, versus a 13 percent gain among those who slept six or seven hours per night, and a 22 percent increase among men and women who got at least eight hours of sleep each night. A similar pattern was seen with superficial abdominal fat. Even when the researchers considered factors like calorie intake, exercise habits, education and smoking, sleep duration itself remained linked to abdominal-fat gain.
The findings support the belief that sleep habits affect weight and health in general. The study does not prove that too little or too much sleep directly leads to excess fat gain. But the findings support and extend those of other studies linking sleep duration - particularly a lack of sleep - to weight gain and even to higher risks of diabetes and heart disease.
COMMENT
DoctorNDTV is the one stop site for all your health needs providing the most credible health information, health news and tips with expert advice on healthy living, diet plans, informative videos etc. You can get the most relevant and accurate info you need about health problems like diabetes, cancer, pregnancy, HIV and AIDS, weight loss and many other lifestyle diseases. We have a panel of over 350 experts who help us develop content by giving their valuable inputs and bringing to us the latest in the world of healthcare.
