Sleep-Deprived Children More Tempted by Food, Study Suggests

Kids who are sleep-deprived are more likely to eat at the sight of a favourite snack or food, according to a study by published on the International Journal of Obesity.

The research works on the premise that 'Higher food intake is implicated in the elevated risk of obesity associated with shorter sleep in children, but the mechanisms driving higher intake are uncertain.'

The researchers of the study "Nighttime sleep duration and hedonic eating in childhood" published last August 15 were headed by Laura McDonald of the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Health Behaviour Research Centre of the University College London.

The study reports that 5-year olds who get less than 11 hours of sleep a night are more tempted or eager to eat at the sight or reminder of food compared to those who slept longer.

"There is now accumulating evidence in both children and adults to suggest that short or insufficient sleep increases reward-driven ('hedonic') eating," says McDonald in a statement via email to Reuters Health.

"This is, of course, a concern," she added, "given that we live in a modern 'obesogenic' environment" where tasty, high-calorie foods "are widely available and cheap to consume."

The Center for Disease Prevention (CDC) recommends 11-12 hours of sleep for pre-school children.

McDonald and team notes that based on previous studies, sleep deprivation increases the chances a child will be obese or overweight.

However, there is little information on how less sleep impacts daily calorie intake.

The 1,008 children participants of the study were families from Gemini, a UK twin birth cohort in England and Wales.

The researchers had the mothers answer questionnaires on their children's sleep and responsiveness to and behaviour toward food at 5 years old.

The study reported that children who slept less than 11 hours had a 2.53 result on the 1 to 5 scale on food responsiveness. It's remarkably higher than those who slept for 11 to 12 hours (2.36) and at least 12 hours (2.35).

Admittedly, while there is not enough evidence to prove that less sleep equates to more eating, McDonald noted that the reverse could be true.

"It is definitely a possibility that food responsiveness might impact sleep behavior," she says in a statement to Reuters Health.

"For example, it could be that children who are more food responsive are also more difficult to settle at night (when adults or older children might be eating)," McDonald added.

According to Reuters Health, she advised parents, "In children who do not get enough sleep at night, limiting exposure to palatable food cues in the home might be helpful at preventing overconsumption."