In Brief:
Infants and preschoolers who don't get enough sleep at night are at increased risk for later childhood obesity, a new study suggests.. The study included 1,930 U.S. children, ages 1 month to 13 years, who were divided into two groups - younger (ages 1 month to 59 months) and older (ages 5 to 13 years). However, a lack of nighttime sleep at follow-up was associated with increased risk of a shift from normal weight to overweight and from overweight to obesity, the study found.. The findings "suggest that there is a critical window prior to age 5 years when nighttime sleep may be important for subsequent obesity status," wrote Janice F. Bell of the University of Washington in Seattle, and Frederick J. Zimmerman of the University of California, Los Angeles.. The study is published in the September issue of the journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine..
