Experts studying kids’ sleep and eating habits have learned more about a potential reason for childhood obesity.
Kids who are deprived of sleep tend to eat more calories the next day, researchers found. And some of those extra calories come from less-healthy, sugar-laden snacks or treats.
“When children lost sleep, overall they ate an extra 74 calories per day, caused by an increase of 96 calories per day in non-core foods such as crisps and chocolate, which potentially increases the risk of obesity,” said Jill Haszard, a biostatistician at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand.
“Such a difference could easily explain why not getting enough sleep increases the risk of obesity in children,” she said in a university news release….