Young people eat junk when tired

2010-09-01 22:32

Gisela Ostwald

New York - Young people eat more junk food when they don't get enough sleep, according to a study published on Wednesday in the professional journal, "Sleep."

Researchers reported on a long-term ongoing study of teenagers between 16 and 19 years old, which showed that youths snack more and prefer fatty foods as their sleep deficit grows.

The habits can lead to overweight and, long-term, to heart and circulatory problems, the experts warned.

The effect particularly hits young people who get less than eight hours of sleep a night.

The researchers established that girls are more likely than boys to change their eating habits if they stay up late doing school work or watching television.

The reason could be that teenage girls tend toward "emotional" eating more than teenage boys, the authors said.

For the 240 students being studied, they consumed 2.2% more fat calories and 3.0% fewer carbohydrate calories. While on the surface, this does not seem like much of a change, it can add to the body's fat content over the long term, the study said.

The journal is published by the Organisation of Associated Professional Sleep Societies.Author: Gisela Ostwald

- SAPA