Fat accumulation in youngsters is closely associated with short or long sleep

Fat accumulation in youngsters is closely associated with short or long sleepA new study claims that extremes in sleep duration are related to increases in abdominal fat in young adults,

African-American and Hispanic young adults with short or long sleep durations had greater increases in belly fat over a five-year period compared with those who reported sleeping six to seven hours a night, shows the research published in the March 1 issue of the journal SLEEP.

Both short and long sleep durations, as the results show in participants younger than 40 years of age, were associated with significant increases in body mass index (BMI), as well as in subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) fat accumulation.

Compared with people who reported a nightly sleep duration of six to seven hours, those with a self-reported sleep duration of five hours or less per night had an average BMI increase over a five-year period that was 1.8 kg/m2 higher, and greater accumulations of SAT (42 cm2) and VAT (13 cm2); and those who reported sleeping eight hours or more had a BMI increase that was 0.8 kg/m2 higher, as well as greater accumulations of SAT (20cm2) and VAT (6 cm2).

Obtaining a sufficient amount of sleep is important for people of all races and ethnicities. However, ethnic minorities disproportionately report extremes in sleep duration, putting them at risk for negative metabolic outcomes such as obesity and type 2 diabetes said lead author Kristen G. Hairston, M. D., assistant professor of internal medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N. C.

Hairston further said," Appropriate amounts of sleep are important for maintenance of healthy weight. In a group of African-American and Hispanic participants, those who slept less than this had greater increases in belly fat over a five-year period." (With input form agencies)