Less sleep, more TV, ups toddler weight
BOSTON (UPI) -- Infants and toddlers who sleep less than 12 hours a day are twice as likely to become overweight by age 3 than children who sleep longer, a U.S. study found. The study, published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, found children who sleep less than 12 hours and who view two or more hours of television per day have a 16 percent chance of becoming overweight by age 3. "Mounting research suggests that decreased sleep time may be more hazardous to our health than we imagined," lead author Dr. Elsie Taveras of the Harvard Medical School's Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention says in a statement. "We are now learning that those hazardous effects are true even for young infants." The study involved 915 mother-infant pairs from Project Viva, a long-term study of the effects of diet and other lifestyle factors on maternal and child health over time. Infant weight and measurements were taken at several in-person visits up to age 3. Mothers reported how many hours their child slept per day on average at 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years. Parents were also asked to report the average number of hours their children watched television on weekdays and weekends.
BOSTON (UPI) -- Infants and toddlers who sleep less than 12 hours a day are twice as likely to become overweight by age 3 than children who sleep longer, a U.S. study found. The study, published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, found children who sleep less than 12 hours and who view two or more hours of television per day have a 16 percent chance of becoming overweight by age 3. "Mounting research suggests that decreased sleep time may be more hazardous to our health than we imagined," lead author Dr. Elsie Taveras of the Harvard Medical School's Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention says in a statement. "We are now learning that those hazardous effects are true even for young infants." The study involved 915 mother-infant pairs from Project Viva, a long-term study of the effects of diet and other lifestyle factors on maternal and child health over time. Infant weight and measurements were taken at several in-person visits up to age 3. Mothers reported how many hours their child slept per day on average at 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years. Parents were also asked to report the average number of hours their children watched television on weekdays and weekends.
Copyright 2008 by United Press International
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