Sleep helps dieters: study
Source: Agencies |
October 6, 2010, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
GETTING too little sleep might prevent dieters from losing body fat, according to a small United States study.
The study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, adds to evidence that sleep habits play a role in weight regulation and suggest people embarking on a weight-loss plan may want to make sure they are catching enough shut-eye each night.
The study included 10 overweight men and women who lived in a sleep lab for two separate two-week periods.
During both periods they followed the same calorie-restricted diet but for one period, the participants slept for 8.5 hours per night, while during the other they got 5.5 hours.
Researchers from the University of Chicago found the dieters lost the same amount of weight under both conditions - just under 7 pounds, on average. But during the sleep-restricted period, they mainly lost muscle rather than fat.
When participants got 8.5 hours of sleep, more than half of their weight loss came from shedding fat.
But when they got 5.5 hours of sleep, only one-quarter of their weight loss came from fat - translating to a 55 percent reduction in fat loss. The majority of their weight loss came from lean body tissue, which refers to muscle and any other body tissue that is not fat.
"So they lost the same amount of weight, but the composition was different," said researcher Dr Plamen Penev, an assistant professor of medicine. Penev said successful dieters always shed a certain amount of muscle but wanted to limit that loss.
The study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, adds to evidence that sleep habits play a role in weight regulation and suggest people embarking on a weight-loss plan may want to make sure they are catching enough shut-eye each night.
The study included 10 overweight men and women who lived in a sleep lab for two separate two-week periods.
During both periods they followed the same calorie-restricted diet but for one period, the participants slept for 8.5 hours per night, while during the other they got 5.5 hours.
Researchers from the University of Chicago found the dieters lost the same amount of weight under both conditions - just under 7 pounds, on average. But during the sleep-restricted period, they mainly lost muscle rather than fat.
When participants got 8.5 hours of sleep, more than half of their weight loss came from shedding fat.
But when they got 5.5 hours of sleep, only one-quarter of their weight loss came from fat - translating to a 55 percent reduction in fat loss. The majority of their weight loss came from lean body tissue, which refers to muscle and any other body tissue that is not fat.
"So they lost the same amount of weight, but the composition was different," said researcher Dr Plamen Penev, an assistant professor of medicine. Penev said successful dieters always shed a certain amount of muscle but wanted to limit that loss.
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