Penn study finds increased sleep could reduce rate of adolescent obesity

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/uops-psf040813.php

Public release date: 8-Apr-2013
Contact: Katie Delach
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

Results show each additional hour of sleep is associated with a lower BMI for teens

Philadelphia – Increasing the number of hours of sleep adolescents get each night may reduce the prevalence of adolescent obesity, according to a new study by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Results of the study show that fewer hours of sleep is associated with greater increases in adolescent body mass index (BMI) for participants between 14 and 18-years-old. The findings suggest that increasing sleep duration to 10 hours per day, especially for those in the upper half of the BMI distribution, could help to reduce the prevalence of adolescent obesity. Full results of the study are available online in the latest issue of Pediatrics.