The chronic lack of sleep, known to affect children with autism, puts them at a higher risk of developing obesity.
That’s the finding by the University of Warwick. Its researchers found that children and adolescents who regularly sleep less than others of the same age gain more weight when they grow older. It led them to be more likely to become overweight or obese.
The problem of sleeplessness affects many children with autism. In fact, a University of Pennsylvania study found that two in every three children with autism (66 per cent) had problems in sleeping.
Sleep is ‘important risk factor of future obesity’
This compared with 45 per cent of typically developing children, whose sleeping problems tended to be milder.
One of the co-authors of the University of Warwick study was Dr Michelle Miller of Warwick Medical School. She said: “Being overweight can lead to cardiovascular disease and type-2-diabetes, which is also on the increase in children.
“The findings of the study indicate that sleep may be an important potentially modifiable risk factor (or marker) of future obesity.”
More than 75,000 participants
The study’s authors reviewed the results of 42 population studies of infants, children and adolescents up to 18 years old. In total, there were 75,499 participants. The researchers assessed the average length of time they were sleeping using a variety of methods. These ranged from questionnaires to using wearable technology.
They split the participants into two groups: short sleepers and regular sleepers.
They defined short sleepers as having less sleep than the reference category for their age. To define this category, they used the most recent National Sleep Foundation guidelines in the US.
These guidelines recommend that infants (4 to 11 months) get between 12-15 hours of nightly sleep and toddlers (1-2 years) get 11-14 hours. They also recommend that children in pre-school (3-5 years) get 10-13 hours and school-aged children (6-13 years) between 9 and 11 hours. Teenagers (14-17 years) are advised to get 8-10 hours.
The researchers followed participants for an average of three years. During that time, they recorded changes in their body mass index, which measures body fat based on height and weight. They recorded incidences of the participants being being overweight and/or obese.
Short sleepers gained more weight
At all ages, they found short sleepers gained more weight. Overall, the short sleepers were 58 per cent more likely to become overweight or obese.
Dr Miller said: “The results showed a consistent relationship across all ages, indicating that the increased risk is present in both younger and older children. The study also reinforces the concept that sleep deprivation is an important risk factor for obesity, detectable very early on in life.”
Professor Francesco Cappuccio was a co-author of the study. He added: “By appraising world literature we were able to demonstrate that, despite some variation between studies, there is a strikingly consistent overall prospective association between short sleep and obesity.
“This study builds on our previous analysis of cross-sectional data published in 2008. The importance of the latest approach is that only prospective longitudinal studies were included, demonstrating that short sleep precedes the development of obesity in later years, strongly suggesting causality.”
The study appeared in the journal Sleep.
Related:
- Sleep problems impact fathers’ health
- NHS tests idea of offering sleep support
- Obesity is found to start at a young age
Published: 20 April 2018
