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Poor sleep in a child can cause obesity
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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Specialists from one of the London Colleges conducted a study related to childhood obesity. As it turned out, children who sleep less than their peers consume more calories, which in the future can result in obesity and some health problems.
In previous studies, scientists were able to establish a connection between excessive appetite and lack of sleep in older children and adults. The latest research in this area has shown that the same connection exists in young children. In the course of the research, scientists noted that one-and-a-half-year-old children who slept less than 10 hours a day consumed an average of 100 calories more than their peers who slept 13 or more hours. The daily calorie intake in this case increased by 10%.
Experts suggest that lack of sleep leads to hormonal dysfunction, which provokes excessive appetite and dulls the feeling of satiety. In addition, lack of sleep makes children irritable, and the body, in need of energy, begins to demand food. Quite often, parents themselves aggravate the situation by trying to calm the child with cookies or buns.
Scientists are currently unable to pinpoint the exact reasons why this happens, but they suggest that sleep affects weight loss in young children. If a child's sleep is short, this may lead to changes in the hormones responsible for appetite.
The researchers believe their study provides insight into why a large proportion of children with sleep problems are more likely to be obese than their peers with normal, long sleep.
Although there is still much work to be done in this area, parents can be advised to pay attention to their child's sleep and nutrition, since it is up to the parents to determine how much and when the child will eat in the first years of life.
In addition, experts in their recent studies have found that a tendency to obesity in adulthood can be determined in childhood. 50% of children who had problems with excess weight at the age of 13 had similar problems at a younger age. Doctors believe that obesity is a disease and it should be treated from an early age: teach healthy eating, follow a regimen, and play sports.
During their study, scientists monitored the condition of more than seven thousand children, starting from kindergarten and up to the age of 13. At the beginning of the study, 12% of children were obese, and 15% were overweight. At the age of 13, these figures doubled. 50% of children who were overweight at an early age had the same problems at school or made the situation even worse. At the age of five, extra pounds in a child increase the likelihood of obesity in the future by 4 times. According to statistics, every 20th child has weight problems in kindergarten. In grades 1-3 and adolescence, there is a tendency for a sharp jump in the appearance of extra pounds.
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