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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | Next >> "The effect of sleep on the weight of younger kids came through their bedtime. An earlier bedtime seemed to matter more, and bedtime is a place where parents have control," Snell said. "For older kids, wake time mattered more. I'm not sure how comfortable I am telling school districts that if they start school early their kids will end up fat. But it does add to the evidence that a very early start time (7 a.m. or earlier), especially for pre-adolescents and teens, is not in line with adolescents biological clocks."
Snell added that the study also found a discouraging trend in how much -- or little -- sleep kids are getting, particularly on weeknights. By age 7, children were sleeping, on average, less than 10 hours on weekdays, and this dropped to 8.5 hours by age 14. Sixteen percent of adolescents aged 13 to 18 slept less than seven hours on weeknights.
The National Sleep Foundation recommends that 5- to 12-year-olds get 10 to 11 hours of sleep nightly and that teens get eight to nine hours.
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Lack of sleep not only affects a child's weight, but it can have other ramifications, said Dr. Shahrad Taheri, a lecturer in medicine and endocrinology at the University of Bristol, in Great Britain.
"We are increasingly understanding that sleep has multiple functions," he said. "Short sleep has been associated with poor educational performance, alcohol use and addiction, poor immune responses, hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease."
Researchers don't know why sleep and childhood obesity may be related, but Snell said there are many potential pathways that link the two. For instance, not getting enough sleep can leave a child tired, and therefore less likely to be active. Also, being awake longer provides more time for eating.
Lack of sleep may also disrupt hormones that influence metabolism and hunger.
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