Sleep link to child obesity

Getting a good night’s sleep can reduce a child’s risk of being overweight, scientists have found.

Children who averaged nine and half hours sleep each night had only a 12 per cent risk of being obese, which rose to 23 per cent for children getting less than eight and half hours sleep.

The study looked at 785 children between the ages of eight and 11 and has just been published in the American journal, Pediatrics.

If children were tired they were less likely to burn off calories by being active during the day, the research found, and more likely to turn to junk food for a quick boost.

Having a television in a child’s bedroom was also cited as being a contributing factor to lack of sleep.