Air date: October 10, 2010

Host: Jeremy Shere, PhD

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Primary Care segments are presented
by IU Health Physicians.

Did you Know? is presented by Wishard Health Services, becoming Eskenazi Health in 2014.

I’m Jeremy Shere.

Did you know that not getting enough sleep can raise the risk for obesity?

And conversely, getting a good, solid night’s sleep can lower the chances of becoming obese, for kids, and possibly adults?

Researchers at the University of Washington looked at data on around 2,000 children and compared kids who slept at least 10 hours a night to those who slept less. And they found that infants and toddlers who got less than 10 hours of sleep a night were nearly twice as likely to become overweight or obese within five years.

The connection between sleep and weight is well-known but not well understood. Kids who don’t get enough sleep may be too tired to be physically active during the day.

And some scientists think that sleep affects leptin and ghrelin -- hormones that regulate appetite. It’s possible that too little sleep may increase levels of ghrelin, which stimulates appetite.

And now you know.

Did You Know is presented by Senior Care at Wishard, answering your questions at Living Longer Better.

Additional Resources:

• Listen to a similar story on the topic at the National Public Radio.