7 Healthcast: Sleeping weight

Here's a reason to make sure your kids get to bed on time. Research from the University of Michigan finds strong evidence that children who don't get enough sleep are more likely to be obese.

A review of data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development study finds that third graders who didn't get enough sleep were more likely to be overweight by the 6th grade, regardless of their starting body mass index.

"This seems to be one more piece of evidence that children who aren't doing what they ought to be doing have higher risk of chronic disease, in this case obesity," said Pediatrician Dr. James Perrin of MassGeneral Hospital for Children.

Dr. Perrin says although it's not exactly clear why this is the case, there are some theories as to why lack of sleep and obesity are related.

"There are certain hormones that have a sort of 24-hour cycle and maybe by interrupting sleep and its normal processes you interrupt those hormones that may have a role in growth and weight especially," Dr. Perrin said.

Researchers also say that if kids don't get enough sleep, they'll be tired and less likely to get exercise during the day. Another theory- when kids are tired, they're more irritable and may reach for junk food to help regulate their mood.

While researchers admit more study needs to be done, this is an important finding.

"I think we've got to be working on prevention today, and that includes all these things that are important- diet, exercise, sleep, they're all very important for children," Dr. Perrin said.

To help your kids get more sleep, the researchers recommend keeping a consistent sleep schedule for bed and wake-up times. They also recommend not having TV, computer games, or other electronics in the bedroom.

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