精东传媒

July 11, 2019

Obese toddlers are getting less sleep

UOW study finds connection between sleep patterns and obesity in children under three

精东传媒 of 精东传媒 (UOW) researchers have discovered longer sleep durations may protect toddlers from obesity, but toddlers who spend more time napping may be prone to obesity.

Lead researcher and Early Start PhD candidate Zhiguang Zhang observed the sleep patterns of 202 toddlers under the age of three in the Illawarra over a one-year period.

Her findings were recently published in a prestigious international obesity journal.

Miss Zhang collaborated with UOW Early Start researchers 闯辞茫辞 Pereira, Eduarda Sousa-Sa, Tony Okely, Xiaoqi Feng and Rute Santos.

She said the research may have implications for obesity prevention in young children.

鈥淭his is a piece in the puzzle of preventing childhood obesity,鈥� Miss Zhang said.

鈥淭he obesity epidemic among children has been a major public health concern. It is vital to prevent excessive weight gain in the early years, and understand the risk factors. We know that a lack of adequate sleep may contribute to obesity in school-aged children, we now believe this may also be the case for children under the age of three.

鈥淭he good news is, parents have some degree of control.

鈥淚t is possible to change a toddler鈥檚 sleeping patterns, and create an environment where they will sleep more overnight.鈥�

To track sleep, participating parents strapped motion detectors to their toddlers鈥� waists for a week-long period.

While the research found a possible connection between longer naps and higher body fat levels in toddlers, Miss Zhang stressed that naps were not the enemy.

鈥淚鈥檇 strongly caution against placing a limit on nap times,鈥� Miss Zhang said.

鈥淣aps may reduce stress levels, improve motor skill learning and help their brains to function.鈥�

The study also found no link between bedtimes, wake-up times and obesity, in contrast to a recent study of 8950 American pre-schoolers, in which children with later bedtimes were more likely to be obese and gain weight over a year than children with earlier bedtimes.

Ms Zhang suggested the sample size may have inhibited her study, and believes further research on toddlers must be done to obtain more conclusive evidence.

Ms Zhang鈥檚 revelations help to build a foundation of knowledge in what has been a relatively unchartered study area. There is a wealth of information linking sleep duration to obesity in adults and older children, however, just four other studies have focused on children under three, and none picked up an association between sleep duration and obesity.

was published in Pediatric Obesity on 3 July.

The study was funded by an Australian Research Council grant. Miss Zhang is sponsored by a PhD scholarship from the China Scholarship Council and an International Postgraduate Tuition Award from 精东传媒 of 精东传媒.