More Sleep for Less Weight

Published: 12/18/2007

In a study of children in grades three through six, those students who got the least sleep at night were most at risk for obesity. For every additional hour of sleep a third-grader got, there was a 40% reduction in risk of being obese by sixth grade. Why the weight gain? One possible reason is a disruption in normal production of hormones involved with appetite and weight maintenance such as leptin, gherlin, and insulin, when a child doesn’t get enough sleep.  

What’s the take-home? Sleep matters. The more successful you are at seeing that your child gets the recommended amount of sleep, the better chance that he or she will not become overweight. How much sleep should your child get? The AAP recommends 14-15 hours a day of sleep for infants 3-11 months, 12-14 hours a day for 1 and 2-year-olds, 11-13 hours for children 3-6, 10-11 hours for children 7-11, and 8-1/2 to 9-1/2 hours for adolescents.

Pediatrics, November 2007 (120), 1020-1029.