DIET REVIEW 4 - Waking Up to Sleep’s Role in Weight Control

Waking Up to Sleep’s Role in Weight Control

A good night’s sleep is one of the keys to good health—and may also be a key to maintaining a healthy weight. There is mounting evidence that people who get too little sleep have a higher risk of weight gain and obesity than people who get seven to eight hours of sleep a night. Given our society’s increasing tendency to burn the midnight oil—in 1998, 35 percent of American adults were getting 8 hours of sleep a night, and by 2005 that had dropped to 26 percent —lack of sleep could be a major contributor to the obesity epidemic.

This article briefly summarizes the latest findings on the link between sleep and obesity in children and adults, and it outlines a few ways that too little sleep could lead to too much weight.

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Getting too little sleep may lead to gaining too much weight. Learn about the research on sleep and weight in children and adults, as well as the possible ways that sleep deprivation may increase obesity risk.

Sleep and Childhood Obesity

Dozens of studies spanning five continents have looked at the link between sleep duration and obesity in children. Most (but not all) have found a convincing association between too little sleep and increased weight.  The strongest evidence has come from studies that have tracked the sleep habits of large numbers of children over long periods of time (longitudinal studies), and have also adjusted for the many other factors that could increase children’s obesity risk, such as parents’ obesity, television time, and physical activity.

Read more about prenatal and early life influences on obesity
Read more about sleep recommendations for children & teens
A British study, for example, that followed more than 8,000 children from birth found that those who slept fewer than 10 and a half hours a night at age 3 had a 45 percent higher risk of becoming obese by age 7, compared to children who slept more than 12 hours a night.   Similarly, Project Viva, a U.S. prospective cohort study of 915 children, found that infants who averaged fewer than 12 hours of sleep a day had twice the odds of being obese at age 3, compared with those who slept for 12 hours or more.  Maternal depression during pregnancy, introduction of solid foods before the age of 4 months, and infant TV viewing were all associated with shorter sleep duration.
Childhood sleep habits may even have a long-term effect on weight, well into adulthood. Researchers in New Zealand followed 1,037 children from birth until age 32, collecting information from parents on the average number of hours their children slept at ages 5, 7, 9, and 11.  Each one hour reduction in sleep during childhood was associated with a 50 percent higher risk of obesity at age 32.

Keep in mind that these are all observational studies—and even though they suggest an association between sleep and weight, they cannot conclusively show that getting enough sleep lowers children’s risk of obesity. More definitive answers may come from randomized clinical trials that test whether increasing infant or childhood sleep lowers the risk of obesity.

Sleep Resources Header (sleep-resources-header-narr.gif)

National Sleep Foundation
Healthy Sleep, Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—Sleep and Sleep Disorders
Sleep for Kids, National Sleep Foundation

The first such trial to look at the influence of a sleep intervention on childhood obesity, fielded in Australia, enrolled 328 7-month-old infants who already had sleep problems, as reported by their mothers.  The trial sought to test whether counseling mothers on behavioral techniques to manage infant sleep problems would improve infants’ sleep and also lower mothers’ rates of depression; the researchers followed up at intervals over six years to see if the intervention had any effect on obesity.

At one year of age, infants in the intervention group had fewer reported sleep problems than infants in the control group, but there was no difference in sleep duration between the groups; at 2 and 6 years of age, there was no difference in sleep problems or sleep duration between the groups. Thus, it is perhaps no surprise that at 6 years of age, obesity rates were the same in both groups. The study also had serious shortcomings, among them, the fact that 40 percent of the participants had dropped out by the six-year follow-up.

Two large trials currently underway, one in the U.S. and the other in New Zealand, should offer more conclusive evidence on the relationship between sleep duration and obesity.  Both trials are testing whether teaching parents how to develop good sleep and feeding habits in their newborn infants helps prevent the development of obesity during the toddler years. Early results from the U.S. study have been encouraging.
Sleep and Adult ObesityAlarm Clock Scale (alarm-clock-scale.jpg)

Most studies that measure adults’ sleep habits at one point in time (cross-sectional studies) have found a link between short sleep duration and obesity.  Longitudinal studies, though, can better answer questions about causality—and in adults the findings from such studies have been less consistent than those in children.

The largest and longest study to date on adult sleep habits and weight is the Nurses’ Health Study, which followed 68,000 middle-age American women for up to 16 years. (14) Compared to women who slept seven hours a night, women who slept five hours or less were 15 percent more likely to become obese over the course of the study. A similar investigation in the Nurses’ Health Study and the Nurses’ Health Study II, a cohort of younger women, looked at the relationship between working a rotating night shift—an irregular schedule that mixes day and evening work with a few night shifts, throwing off circadian rhythms and impairing sleep—and risk of type 2 diabetes and obesity. (15) Researchers found that the longer women worked a rotating night shift, the greater their risk of developing diabetes and obesity.

Other researchers have fielded smaller, shorter longitudinal studies on adult sleep habits and weight in the U.S. and Canada as well as the U.K. and Europe.  Some have found a link between short sleep duration and obesity, while others have not. Interestingly, a few studies in adults have reported that getting too much sleep is linked to a higher risk of obesity.  This is most likely due to a phenomenon that researchers call “reverse causation.” People who sleep for longer than normal may have an obesity-related condition that has led to their longer sleep habits—sleep apnea, obstructive lung disease, depression, or cancer, for example—rather than long sleep coming first and then leading to obesity.

An in-process pilot study may provide more answers on whether getting a longer night’s sleep can help with weight loss.  Researchers are recruiting 150 obese adults who are “short sleepers” (who sleep fewer than 6.5 hours a night) and randomly assigning them to either maintain their current sleep habits or else receive coaching on how to extend their nightly sleep by at least half an hour to an hour. Investigators will track study participants’ sleep habits and weight for three years.

How Does Sleep Affect Body Weight?

Researchers speculate that there are several ways that chronic sleep deprivation might lead to weight gain, either by increasing how much food people eat or decreasing the energy that they burn. (2)

Sleep deprivation could increase energy intake by

Increasing hunger: Sleep deprivation may alter the hormones that control hunger.  One small study, for example, found that young men who were deprived of sleep had higher levels of the appetite-stimulating hormone ghrelin and lower levels of the satiety-inducing hormone leptin, with a corresponding increase in hunger and appetite—especially for foods rich in fat and carbohydrates. Giving people more time to eat: People who sleep less each night may eat more than people who get a full night’s sleep simply because they have more waking time available.  Recently, a small laboratory study found that people who were deprived of sleep and surrounded by tasty snacks tended to snack more—especially during the extra hours they were awake at night—than when they had adequate sleep.

Prompting people to choose less healthy diets: Observational studies have not seen a consistent link between sleep and food choices.  But one study of Japanese workers did find that workers who slept fewer than six hours a night were more likely to eat out, have irregular meal patterns, and snack than those who slept more than six hours.

Sleep deprivation could decrease energy expenditure by

Decreasing physical activity: People who don’t get enough sleep are more tired during the day, and as a result may curb their physical activity.  Some studies have found that sleep-deprived people tend to spend more time watching TV, less time playing organized sports, and less time being physically active than people who get enough sleep. But these differences in physical activity or TV viewing are not large enough to explain the association between sleep and weight. Lowering body temperature: In laboratory experiments, people who are sleep-deprived tend to see a drop in their body temperatures.  This drop, in turn, may lead to decreased energy expenditure. Yet a recent study did not find any link between sleep duration and total energy expenditure. The Bottom Line: Sleep is a Promising Target for Obesity Prevention

There is convincing evidence that getting a less than ideal amount of sleep is an independent and strong risk factor for obesity, in infants and children as well as in adults. Most of the research thus far, however, has consisted of observational studies, and it remains to be seen whether teaching children or adults how to get a better night’s sleep can lower their risk of obesity or help them lose weight. Randomized clinical trials that are currently underway may soon provide more answers.

Some researchers have cautioned against being too quick to promote sleep as an answer to the obesity epidemic, given the shortcomings of the research conducted to date.  Yet from a public health perspective, there is little risk in encouraging healthy sleep through lifestyle changes, such as setting a consistent bedtime, limiting caffeine late in the day, and curtailing high-tech distractions in the bedroom.  Good sleep habits have other benefits, too, like boosting alertness at school or work, improving mood, and enhancing overall quality of life. That’s all the more reason to put a long night’s sleep on the short list for obesity prevention.

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How Mom’s Weight Before Pregnancy Can Affect a Baby’s Brain

Even before conception, a mother's obesity may affect cognitive development in her baby-to-be.

A mother’s health during pregnancy has measurable effects on her baby’s well-being, but a new study shows that her fitness before pregnancy matters too. Researchers say that cognitive deficits found in premature babies can be traced to a number of mom-related factors, and one of them is a woman’s pre-pregnancy weight.

The new study, published in the journal Pediatrics, involved 921 preterm infants born before 28 weeks gestation and at lower-than-normal birth weight. About 11% of the babies showed cognitive problems at age 2. Among the infants, the researchers found, those whose mothers were obese (with a body mass index, or BMI, over 30) before they became pregnant had double the risk of developing these cognitive issues.

“What parents need to know is that when it comes to a baby’s brain development, everything is important — even factors prior to getting pregnant. And any changes that they can make toward a healthier lifestyle might improve the outcomes for their babies,” says the study’s lead author Dr. Jennifer Helderman, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.


The babies and parents participating in the study came from 14 different institutes and agreed to participate in a number of tests to help the researchers determine which factors were most important in influencing brain development. The mothers agreed to give placental biopsies immediately after giving birth, and the babies participated in neurological evaluations and developmental assessments around age 2.

The placental samples helped scientists to determine whether any blockages in the blood vessels feeding the fetus may have impaired the flow of nutrients and oxygen to the developing fetus, thus inhibiting brain development. Indeed, babies who developed in placental environments with blood clots were at a threefold greater risk of lower cognitive scores, compared with infants whose mothers had fewer placental clots.

But of all the mother-related factors that influenced cognitive development, pre-pregnancy obesity stood out. While it’s not entirely clear how a woman’s weight before conception may impact her baby’s brain, Helderman says the leading theory involves inflammation. Excess weight can keep levels of potentially destructive immune cells high; these are the cells that rush to the site of trauma to clear away debris. Studies show that inflammation can adversely affect the brain, and it’s possible that an expectant mom’s heightened inflammatory response could filter through to her developing baby.
Other factors that Helderman and her team identified included familiar ones such as a mother’s education and race. Previous studies have found, as Helderman’s did, that mothers with less than a high school education and those from racial and ethnic minorities were more likely to have babies with cognitive problems.


And while the results are sobering, they also contain some hope. “This is a factor that is potentially modifiable,” says Helderman. “We’re not saying that weight loss or that maintaining a healthy weight is easy, but for mothers who are interested in doing everything they can for a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby, this might be one area they want to target.”

Expectant moms already give up smoking and drinking alcohol while pregnant, so addressing weight issues may become another part of a pre-pregnancy checklist. That’s not to say that all normal weight women have healthy babies without cognitive issues, but such deficits are more common among those born premature, and, as these results show, to moms who are obese. “This is important because almost universally, parents interested in this outcome — brain development in their babies,” says Helderman. “If they want to increase their chances of having healthy children, managing their weight may be one thing they can do.”

Written by Alice Park at http://ti.me/1gYeIhK.

Daily Intake of Sugar – How Much Sugar Should You Eat Per Day?

 

 Added sugar is the single worst ingredient in the modern diet.

It provides calories with no added nutrients and can damage your metabolism in the long run.

Eating too much sugar is linked to weight gain and various diseases like obesity, type II diabetes and heart disease.

But how much is too much? Can you eat a little bit of sugar each day without harm, or should you avoid it as much as possible?

Added Sugars vs Natural Sugars – Big Difference

It is very important to make the distinction between added sugars and sugars that occur naturally in foods like fruits and vegetables.

These are healthy foods that contain water, fiber and various micronutrients. The naturally occurring sugars are absolutely fine.

However, added sugars are those that are added to foods. The most common added sugars are regular table sugar (sucrose) or high fructose corn syrup.

If you want to lose weight and optimize your health, then you should do your best to avoid foods that contain added sugars.

Sugar Consumption is Extremely High

It is difficult to find exact numbers because sources vary on this.

According to data from the U.S. in 2008, people are consuming over 60 pounds (28 kg) of added sugar per year and this does not include fruit juices.

In 2008 the average intake was 76.7 grams per day, which equals 19 teaspoons or 306 calories.

According to this study, sugar consumption went down by 23% between the years 2000 and 2008, mainly because people drank less sugar-sweetened beverages.

So we are on the right track, that’s the good news!

However, current intake levels are still way too high and are a key player in making people fat and sick.

Specifically, excess sugar consumption has been associated with obesity, type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, tooth decay, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and a lot more.

What is a Safe Amount of Sugar to Eat Per Day?

Unfortunately, there is no simple answer to this question. Some people can eat some sugar without harm, while others should avoid it as much as possible.

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), the maximum amount of added sugars you should eat in a day are:

Men: 150 calories per day (37.5 grams or 9 teaspoons).
Women: 100 calories per day (25 grams or 6 teaspoons).

To put that into perspective, one 12oz can of coke contains 140 calories from sugar, while a regular sized snickers bar contains 120 calories from sugar.

If you are healthy, lean and active, these seem like reasonable amounts. You’ll probably burn off these small amounts of sugar without them causing you much harm.

But it’s important to note that there is no need for added sugars in the diet. They don’t serve any physiological purpose.

The less you eat, the healthier you will be.

What About if You’re Overweight or Obese?

If you are overweight, obese, diabetic or suffering from the western diet in any way, then you should probably avoid sugar as much as possible.

In that case, you should NOT be consuming sugar every day, more like once per week or once every two weeks (at most).

But if you want to be healthy, then you really shouldn’t be consuming foods that have sugar added to them.

Soft drinks, baked goods, processed foods… these foods have no place in the diet of someone who is overweight.

Stick to real, single ingredient foods and avoid processed foods high in sugar and refined carbohydrates.

If You’re Addicted to Sugar, Then Perhaps You Should Avoid it Completely

Sugary junk foods stimulate the same areas in the brain as drugs of abuse.

For this reason, sugar can cause people to lose control over their consumption.

 If you have a history of binge eating, failure at setting rules about your consumption (like cheat meals / days) and repeated failures with the “everything in moderation” approach – then perhaps you are addicted (like I was).

The same way that a smoker needs to avoid cigarettes completely, a sugar addict needs to avoid sugar completely.

Complete abstinence is the only reliable way for true addicts to overcome their addiction.

I have personally made the choice to never eat added sugar again. I now haven’t touched it in over 7 months. I’ve lost a lot of weight and I feel awesome.

How to Minimize Sugars in The Diet

Avoid these foods, in order of importance:
Soft drinks: Sugar-sweetened beverages are awful, you should avoid these like the plague.

Fruit juices: This may surprise you, but fruit juices actually contain the same amount of sugar as soft drinks!

Candies and sweets: You should drastically limit your consumption of sweets.

Baked goods: Cookies, cakes, etc. These tend to be very high in sugar and refined carbohydrates.

Fruits canned in syrup: Choose fresh fruits instead.

Low-Fat or Diet Foods: Foods that have had the fat removed from them are often very high in sugar.

Dried fruits: Avoid dried fruits as much as possible.

Drink water instead of soda or juices and don’t add sugar to your coffee or tea.

Instead of sugar in recipes, you can try things like cinnamon, nutmeg, almond extract, vanilla, ginger or lemon.

Just be creative and use google to find recipes. You can eat an endless variety of amazing foods even though you eliminate sugar from your diet.

A natural, zero-calorie alternative to sugar is Stevia.

What About Sugar in Processed Foods?

The best way to cut back on sugar is to simply avoid processed foods and satisfy your sweet tooth with fruits instead.

This approach doesn’t require math, calorie counting or obsessively reading food labels all the time.

However, if you’re simply unable to stick to unprocessed foods for financial reasons, then here are some tips on how to make the right choices:

There are many different names for sugar: Sugar, sucrose, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), dehydrated cane juice, fructose, glucose, dextrose, syrup, cane sugar, raw sugar, corn syrup and more.

If a packaged food contains sugar in the first 3 ingredients, avoid it.

If a packaged food contains more than one type of sugar, avoid it.

Be aware that other sugars often labelled healthy like agave, honey, organic cane sugar and coconut sugar fall into the same category.

Warning: You MUST read nutrition labels! Even foods disguised as “health foods” can be loaded with added sugars.

Take Home Message

At the end of the day, it’s important to experiment.

Some people can handle a little bit of sugar in their diet, while for others it causes cravings, binge eating, rapid weight gain and disease.

We’re all unique and you need to figure out what works for you.

Just keep in mind that when it comes to a harmful substance like added sugar…

The less, the better!

Written by Kris Gunnars at http://bit.ly/1etaNpV.

Developing a Healthy Weight Loss Plan

This has been in for a long while now; a little flab here and an extra inch there are widely regarded as being bad news. Look around and you will see weight loss representatives eager to help you start off on programs for healthy weight loss. "Healthy" -- now that is a word to emphasize. Fad diets are all over the place these days. Most often, they are not ways of guaranteeing healthy weight loss. After all, what is the point of losing weight if you end up with metabolism-related problems? Obesity does lead to health problems, but so do fad diets. So how does one come across a healthy weight loss program?

Obesity eats your energy levels and affects your self-esteem. Your neighbors might suggest a crash diet program that worked wonders for her. However, this does not mean that the same diet would work for you. Yo-yo dieting is bad news for health more often than not. Cut down on your fatty indulgences and drink some protein shakes and you could be on your way to losing fat and building muscles. On the flip side, however, you could end up with kidney troubles. Similarly, reducing your calorie intake might help you shave off a few inches in the short term. However, the weight loss might not be a permanent one.

So how does one come up with a healthy weight loss plan? Popeye, the well-known cartoon character is always shown eating spinach, while his friend Wimpy is constantly chowing on hamburgers and fries. The results are there for all to see. While Wimpy is flabby, Popeye is muscular enough to take on any villain that comes his way. It is just another reminder that the key to healthy weight loss lies in eating right.

To begin with, one's weight loss targets need to be reasonable. You can't just wake up a week before Christmas and hope to lose twenty pounds before that Christmas Eve party. Not only is this an unreasonable target, but achieving it can only be done through unhealthy means. You need to develop a healthy weight loss plan. This would involve setting reasonable goals. Tell yourself that you will lose two pounds a week and work towards it. Start slow, be patient and be persistent -- that is the secret to healthy weight loss.

It is best to visit a doctor or a qualified dietitian to figure out what would be a healthy weight loss plan for you. Each person has a different kind of metabolism combined with different health issues. You will need to chart out a suitable diet plan that will give you your daily dose of carbohydrate, calories, proteins, fats, and vitamins. You would also have to start doing some regular exercise. You could set out for a jog every morning; or you could get together with some friends and join an aerobics class. If you are the sporty type, playing tennis more often could work wonders. Healthy weight loss need not be a faraway dream if you are focused on your goal.

"Lose 10 Pounds in 1 Month" (realistically)

Written by Ethan Quinn and available at: http://ezinearticles.com/?Developing-a-Healthy-Weight-Loss-Plan&id=1330590