Science of Obesity

[DOB2RTO]

I was watching this show on the National Geographic Channel, and heard something that I once thought was an insult (and funny). They showed a 500+lbs man. They said besides the known problems with obesity, there are others. When (his name) drives his car, he puts so much strain on the engine, HE reduced the fuel economy of his car. I though about it then realized it makes sense. If you hitch a trailer on to the back of a car, pulling that additional weight, will cause poorer fuel economy.

 

Luckily today, we have KING SIZE SUV's that get crappy fuel economy no matter the size of the person driving.

[R1Toasty]

Luckily today, we have KING SIZE SUV's that get crappy fuel economy no matter the size of the person driving.

 

Although being obese, you will get worse fuel economy anyway no matter the car

[Adam.T.Wiethuechter]

I read today that obesity can also be caused by not sleeping.

This is from CNN.com

 

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- Here's another reason to get the kids to bed early: More sleep may lower their risk of becoming obese.

 

Lack of sleep plays havoc with two hormones that regulate the appetite.

 

Researchers have found that every additional hour per night a third-grader spends sleeping reduces the child's chances of being obese in sixth grade by 40 percent.

 

The less sleep they got, the more likely the children were to be obese in sixth grade, no matter what the child's weight was in third grade, said Dr. Julie Lumeng of the University of Michigan, who led the research.

 

If there was a magic number for the third-graders, it was nine hours, 45 minutes of sleep. Sleeping more than that lowered the risk significantly.

 

The study gives parents one more reason to enforce bedtimes, restrict caffeine and yank the TV from the bedroom. The study appears in the November issue of the journal Pediatrics.

 

Lack of sleep plays havoc with two hormones that are the "yin and yang of appetite regulation," said endocrinologist Eve Van Cauter of the University of Chicago, who was not involved in the new study.

 

In experiments by Van Cauter and others, sleep-deprived adults produced more ghrelin, a hormone that promotes hunger, and less leptin, a hormone that signals fullness.

 

Another explanation: Tired kids are less likely to exercise and more likely to sit on the couch and eat cookies, Lumeng said.

 

Dr. Stephen Sheldon, director of sleep medicine at Chicago's Children's Memorial Hospital, praised the study and called for more research. He said children's sleep may be disturbed by breathing problems -- some caused by overweight, such as sleep apnea, and some caused by enlarged tonsils and adenoids.

 

"I'm not so sure we have enough information yet on cause and effect," said Sheldon, who was not involved in the study.

 

Researchers used data from an existing federal study and focused on 785 children with complete information on sleep, and height and weight in the third grade and sixth grade. The children lived in 10 U.S. cities.

 

Mothers were asked: "How much sleep does your child get each day (including naps)?" On average, the third-graders got about 9½ hours sleep, but some slept as little as seven hours and others as much as 12 hours.

 

Of the children who slept 10 to 12 hours a day, about 12 percent were obese by sixth grade. Many more -- 22 percent -- were obese in sixth grade of those who slept less than nine hours a day.

 

The researchers took into account other risk factors for obesity, such as the children's body mass index in third grade, and still found the link between less sleep in third grade and obesity in sixth grade. They acknowledged that factors they did not account for, such as parents' weight or behavior, may have contributed to the risk.

 

Jodi Mindell of the Sleep Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, noted there are plenty of other reasons for encouraging good sleep habits, such as success in school.

 

"I don't want parents to think, 'If I get her to sleep, she's not going to be overweight,"' Mindell said. "I think this is a small piece in the picture."

 

Work Cited:

CNN.com

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/diet.fitness/11/05/diet.kids.sleep.ap/index.html

[NewJerseyT]

I read today that obesity can also be caused by not sleeping.

This is from CNN.com

 

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- Here's another reason to get the kids to bed early: More sleep may lower their risk of becoming obese.

 

Lack of sleep plays havoc with two hormones that regulate the appetite.

 

Researchers have found that every additional hour per night a third-grader spends sleeping reduces the child's chances of being obese in sixth grade by 40 percent.

 

The less sleep they got, the more likely the children were to be obese in sixth grade, no matter what the child's weight was in third grade, said Dr. Julie Lumeng of the University of Michigan, who led the research.

 

If there was a magic number for the third-graders, it was nine hours, 45 minutes of sleep. Sleeping more than that lowered the risk significantly.

 

The study gives parents one more reason to enforce bedtimes, restrict caffeine and yank the TV from the bedroom. The study appears in the November issue of the journal Pediatrics.

 

Lack of sleep plays havoc with two hormones that are the "yin and yang of appetite regulation," said endocrinologist Eve Van Cauter of the University of Chicago, who was not involved in the new study.

 

In experiments by Van Cauter and others, sleep-deprived adults produced more ghrelin, a hormone that promotes hunger, and less leptin, a hormone that signals fullness.

 

Another explanation: Tired kids are less likely to exercise and more likely to sit on the couch and eat cookies, Lumeng said.

 

Dr. Stephen Sheldon, director of sleep medicine at Chicago's Children's Memorial Hospital, praised the study and called for more research. He said children's sleep may be disturbed by breathing problems -- some caused by overweight, such as sleep apnea, and some caused by enlarged tonsils and adenoids.

 

"I'm not so sure we have enough information yet on cause and effect," said Sheldon, who was not involved in the study.

 

Researchers used data from an existing federal study and focused on 785 children with complete information on sleep, and height and weight in the third grade and sixth grade. The children lived in 10 U.S. cities.

 

Mothers were asked: "How much sleep does your child get each day (including naps)?" On average, the third-graders got about 9½ hours sleep, but some slept as little as seven hours and others as much as 12 hours.

 

Of the children who slept 10 to 12 hours a day, about 12 percent were obese by sixth grade. Many more -- 22 percent -- were obese in sixth grade of those who slept less than nine hours a day.

 

The researchers took into account other risk factors for obesity, such as the children's body mass index in third grade, and still found the link between less sleep in third grade and obesity in sixth grade. They acknowledged that factors they did not account for, such as parents' weight or behavior, may have contributed to the risk.

 

Jodi Mindell of the Sleep Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, noted there are plenty of other reasons for encouraging good sleep habits, such as success in school.

 

"I don't want parents to think, 'If I get her to sleep, she's not going to be overweight,"' Mindell said. "I think this is a small piece in the picture."

 

Work Cited:

CNN.com

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/diet.fitness/11/05/diet.kids.sleep.ap/index.html

 

All of that makes sense,however having to wake up at the crack of dawn doesn't help much either.

[DOB2RTO]

That contradicts people who say things like "wake your fat a$$ up. All you do is sleep and eat all day. Get a job."

 

If they were sleeping all day they would be skinny, right? :confused:

[DOB2RTO]

All of that makes sense,however having to wake up at the crack of dawn doesn't help much either.

 

That is where the problem lies. School should start later. I say it should be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m..

[NewJerseyT]

I mean it is obserd (an example of my routine before i moved) I have to wake up at around 5:30ish to get the bus at 6:20, and now that we set the clocks back I would be standin outside in the dark,i mean wtf,and the bus ride is over an hour,another wtf! And then I would be the last 1 off the bus,and I would get home do my homework so subtract another hour.Then if you have and hour or so left before the sun goes down your lucky......and it is proven time and time again,you play outside or whatever you can go to sleep and get a more restful one.....and it reduces your weight becasue your burning calories!Unless you eat twice as much as you burned which is possible. But now at my new house the school drops the kids that are first on first off,it makes sense the kids are first are up earlier then the kids at the end thats the way it should be! And how my old school couldn't pull it,I have no clue.