(ANSA) – ROME, 03 APR – Children who go to bed late on the weekend are more at risk of being overweight: their waistline increases year after year. This was revealed by research published in the Journal of Sleep Research and conducted by Heli Viljakainen of the University of Helsinki, Finland.
Previous research suggests that children who get less than the recommended amount of sleep for their age are more likely to become overweight, but less is known about the effect of bedtime.
Finnish researchers took body measurements (weight, height, waist size etc) of more than 10,000 children aged between 9 and 11, who were asked to indicate their sleeping habits. Half of the children were remeasured 2.5 years later. Initial measurements showed that children who went to bed later on weekends than on weekday nights had a higher waist-to-height ratio than those with regular schedules throughout the week. They also had a higher body mass index, index of being overweight. Going to bed two hours later on weekends, for example, was associated with a 2.4 cm larger waist circumference and a 0.32 higher body mass index in children 148 cm tall. Going to bed late on the weekend was also associated with weight gain over the 2.5-year sample follow-up period.
For example, 11-year-olds who went to bed two hours later on weekends than on weekday nights had a 0.6-centimeter increase in waist size after 2.5 years compared with participants who stayed on regular schedules.
Staying up on weekends has also been linked to excess weight gain in adults.
It often means snacking at night, sleeping late in the morning, and eating late meals the next few days, explains Cedernaes. Our body does not metabolize food well outside of normal meal times.
Children should be encouraged to go to bed at the same time every night throughout the week, the researchers advise. Limit time spent in front of TVs, smartphones and tablets and encourage daytime physical activity.
(ANSA).
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