Sleep and Weight Loss what’s the correlation?
What’s the obesity breakdown this week? Fighting obesity is a daily challenge. In this breakdown, let’s talk about sleep and weight loss.
The medical community is still trying to understand the specific relationship between sleep and weight loss but some trends are showing that not enough or too much sleep can affect your weight gain or loss.
Over the past several decades, the amount of time that Americans spend sleeping has steadily decreased1, as has the self-reported quality of that sleep. For much of the same time period, the average body mass Index (BMI) of Americans increased, reflecting a trend toward higher body weights and elevated rates of obesity.
In children and adolescents, the link between not getting enough sleep and an increased risk of obesity is well-established, although the reason for this link is still being debated.
Insufficient sleep in children can lead to metabolic irregularities as discussed earlier, skipping breakfast in the mornings, and increased intake of sweet, salty, fatty, and starchy foods.
In adults, the research is less clear.
While a large analysis of past studies suggests that people getting less than 6 hours of sleep at night are more likely to be diagnosed as obese16, it’s challenging for these studies to determine cause and effect. Obesity itself can increase the risk of developing conditions that interfere with sleep, like sleep apnea and depression.
However the link is still not clear. What’s important to remember is that sleep affects the things that make you gain or lose weight. So if you’re trying to be as healthy as you can make sure to get plenty of rest. You can read more about weight gain and sleep in this article from Sleep Foundation!
Remember to consult your physician to see how you can manage your weight and how COVID-19 may impact you.
This was the obesity break this week!
