Adequate sleep is important for person to lose weight, and it should be added to the recommended mix of diet and exercise, a new study suggests. Although calorie restriction and increased physical activity are recommended for weight loss, there is significant evidence that inadequate sleep is contributing to obesity. Lack of sleep increases the stimulus to consume more food and increases appetite-regulating hormones.
“The solution [to weight loss] is not as simple as ‘eat less, move more, sleep more’,” Drs. Jean-Phillippe Chaput, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario and Angelo Tremblay, Laval University, Quebec, Quebec, wrote. “However, an accumulating body of evidence suggests that sleeping habits should not be overlooked when prescribing a weight-reduction program to a patient with obesity. Sleep should be included as part of the lifestyle package that traditionally has focused on diet and physical activity,” Chaput said.
The authors’ recently published research found that total sleep time and quality of sleep predicted the loss of fat in people enrolled in a weight loss programme.
The Canadian Obesity Network has included adequate sleep in its new set of obesity management tools for physicians.
The study is published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
Photo makes no sense to the article. Homeless poor are never obese.
I wonder people in the picture really care about the weight loss. They
don't seem to have privilege of storing extra calories. Hey, The Hindu,
the picture doesn't complement the article! What's going on???
As someone who worked in the area of obesity research, I am amused by
all these stories coming out that details factors contributing to
obesity. It is not that simple. What we know is that obesity can be
risk factor for many diseases. People become obese and there are few
important factors contributing to it. The first is genetic factor
(i.e. your DNA blueprint)that predisposes some individual to sustain
BMI more so than others. On top if you have sedate life style it
makes it all the more worse. Many theories contributing to obesity
such as low calorie intake etc. has fallen by the way side. The
finding disclosed herein in the Hindu article is not the last word.
Bottom line- a sensible eating (i.e moderation) coupled with active
life style offers a very simple remedy. Let us face it, not long ago
we in India never had this issue until our life style changed (more
car, scooter etc.). Adding to that ready availability of exotic foods
and sweets can only make it worse.
Then there is no remedy for IT people like me, who works at different shifts, different weeks.
Please Email the Editor