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Kids Who Sleep More Are Less Likely to Become Overweight

The more sleep that young children get, the less likely they are to become overweight, according to a longitudinal study in BMJ.

Researchers in New Zealand followed some 240 children from ages 3 to 7. Sleep was measured with accelerometers at ages 3, 4, and 5, while body mass index and body composition were measured yearly.

After multivariable adjustment, each additional hour of sleep from ages 3 to 5 was associated with a reduction in BMI of 0.49 at age 7 — corresponding to a reduction in body weight of 0.7 kg in a child of median height. Differences in fat mass index, rather than fat-free mass index, accounted for the reduced BMI. In addition, each extra hour of sleep was associated with a 61% reduction in the risk for being overweight at age 7.

The authors speculate that both behavioral and hormonal factors may play a role in the sleep-weight connection.