Sleep More Important Than Diet For Weight Control

[HuckleB]

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/healthnews.php?newsid=43973&nfid=nl

"If you manage to get a good night's sleep on a regular basis your chances of staying slim or becoming slimmer are significantly higher, say researchers from Care Western University, Ohio, USA, after monitoring nearly 70,000 women for over a decade and-a-half. This is the largest study ever to examine the effects of sleep on weight over the long-term.

What constitutes a good night's sleep? For this study, the researchers observed the effect sleeping five or fewer hours regularly has on a woman's weight over the medium and long term. They compared them to women who managed to regularly get 7 hours' sleep each night.

The findings were presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference, San Diego, California.

Women who don't get much sleep, up to five hours each night, are much more likely to have put on 33lbs (15 kilos) over a 16 year period - 30% more likely when compared to the women who managed to get 7 hours sleep each night. Light sleepers also have a significantly higher risk of becoming obese.

..."

[NMDemDist2]

1. interesting

i was always thin until menopause when I packed on 25 lbs in 18 months or so

i slept horribly with night sweats, hot flashes and job stress. now several years later I am sleeping much better and DO notice the weight is starting to slowly come back off

[ginnyinWI]

2. it makes sense

When I'm more tired, I eat more. My brother gained weight when he started having sleep apnea. He'd eat just to stay awake. But I think normal people do that too, to some extent. I also sit around more instead of jumping up and doing things when I'm sleep deprived.

[hlthe2b]

3. damn... I was afraid of that...

I think I know this first hand, unfortunately.

[Celebration]

4. chicken or the egg?

I am guessing that people who can't sleep may have at least some sleep apnea, which is associated with all kinds of ailments. It's a question of which causes what. It is probably some sort of "loop"--downward spiral. Best to intervene at all places in the loop--address any sleep apnea, force more exercise, try everything to sleep better, etc. etc.

[Snow]

6. Very good guess.....

that would've been my question as well, and the study as designed can't answer. Cross-sectional studies are quick and cheap, but they often leave a lot unanswered. You can milk them for some press notice, though, if it's a hot topic. It's already been well-established, though, that obese people don't sleep as well as non-obese, and this applies even more to men than women, because men tend to have more of the central abdominal fat than the subcutaneous fat so popular with women.

[benEzra]

7. Not to mention cofounding factors...

postprandial (reactive) hypoglycemia is a VERY strong risk factor for obesity, and it can also disrupt sleep.

Lack of exercise also negatively affects sleep quality.

The lack of sleep may be causing the obsesity, but it is equally possible that the obesity (or the factors contributing thereto) may be causing the sleeplessness.

[AnnieBW]

5. So I'd Lose Weight

If I stopped staying up late to read DU? :D