A new study says that poor sleep habits in children can lead to obesity and a greater risk of heart disease. Researchers presented the results of the study to the 2010 Canadian Cardiovascular Congress in Montreal October 27.
Dr. Brian McCrindle was the lead author of the study and spoke of the results at the congress, which wrapped up today. Dr. McCrindle, who is a pediatric cardiologist at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, said that one in five children are having sleep issues to the point where they are regularly taking sleep medications.
Dr. McCrindle on Childhood Obesity
A leader of a Canadian Institute of Health Research group on childhood obesity, Dr. McCrindle, who is also a member of the Congenital Heart Surgeons' Society (CHSS) Data Center, says that when children regularly get poor sleep there are often other health issues like lack of physical activity, poor eating habits, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
"They don't realize how important sleep hygiene is to their health," Dr. McCrindle was quoted as saying by Postmedia news reporter Charlie Fidelman Wednesday. The doctor furthers says that these problems do not simply go away as the children move into adulthood.
"We know from long term studies that three-quarters of overweight children become obese adults," he said. "And while we don't yet understand the mechanism, whether it's a cause-and-effect relationship, it does provide some impetus to educate youth and try to improve their sleep hygiene."
Personal Poor Sleep Habits
The study conducted by Dr. McCrindle included 1,600 14 to 15 year-old students in the Toronto school district. Not all children reported simply tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep, the study found that many stay up late watching television, playing games and using social media on the computer and/or playing video games.
Related Study on Obese Children
In a related study presented to the same congress, Dr. Kevin Harris from the Children's Hospital in Vancouver found that arteries of obese children have the kind of a stiffness that is normally not seen in healthy children but in adults with heart disease.
"The normal aorta has elastic qualities that buffer the flow of blood. When that elasticity is lost, aortic stiffness results, a sign of developing cardiovascular disease," Dr. Harris said in a Heart and Stroke Foundation news release. "Aortic stiffness is associated with cardiovascular events and early death."
That study looked at 63 obese children and 55 normal-weighted children. The results mimic the aging process, Dr. Harris said, adding that future study would hopefully able to discover if this process can be reversed.
Sources:
- Canadian Cardiovascular Congress webite
- Fidlelman, Charlie; 'Sleepless children more likely to suffer from heart disease: Study'; published October 27 2010, accessed same day; The Montreal Gazette
- Preidt, Robert; 'Arteries of Obese Kids Aging Prematurely: Study'; published October 25, accessed October 27; Bloomberg Business Week
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