Dec 11, 2014 04:42 PM EST By J Baulkman, UniversityHerald Reporter

Sleep-related breathing problems and chronic lack of sleep significantly increase children's risk of obesity, according to a recent study.

Researchers from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University found that sleep-disordered breathing, which includes snoring and sleep apnea, and chronic lack of sleep could each double the risk of a child becoming obese by the age of 15, HealthDay reported.

"In recent years, lack of sleep has become a well-recognized risk for childhood obesity," Karen Bonuck, lead author on the study, said in a statement. "Sleep-disordered breathing ... is also a risk factor for obesity but receives less attention. These two risk factors had not been tracked together in children over time to determine their potential for independently influencing weight gain."

For the study, researchers collected and analyzed data from nearly 2,000 children. The data, which was collected by the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), included parent questionnaire data on both child sleep duration and sleep-disordered breathing symptoms from birth through 7 years and child BMI data from research ALSPAC clinics.

Researchers found that children with the most severe sleep-disordered breathing had the greatest risk for obesity.  Those children who fell into the "worst case" category were twice as likely to become obese by 7, 10 and 15 years of age, compared to the asymptomatic group. Children considered "worst case" scored highest for SDB symptoms of snoring, sleep apnea or mouth-breathing.

With respect to sleep duration, children with the shortest sleep time at approximately 5 and 6 years of age had a 60 to 100 percent increased risk of being obese at 15 years. Children with short sleep duration at other ages saw no significant increase in risk.

"We know that the road to obesity often begins early in life," Bonuck said. "Our research strengthens the case that insufficient sleep and sleep-disordered breathing-- especially when present early in childhood -- increase the risk for becoming obese later in childhood."

Researchers did not analyze whether children affected by both of the sleep-related risk factors were at greater risk for obesity than were children who had just one risk factor. 

The findings are detailed in the Journal of Pediatrics.  

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