Recently, a long-term study was conducted by the Otago University over the obese children. According to this study, besides a poor diet or lethargic lifestyle, lack of sleep is also more likely to be a reason behind their excess weight. Yes, children who do not take proper sleep tend to be overweight.

For revealing this fact, around 250 children were analyzed. All of these children were Dunedin born: 2001 and 2002. According to this study, during the age of 3 and 5, each additional hour of sleep during the night is linked to a reduced weight-to-height ratio at age 7.

Researchers of this study said "In a child of median height, this corresponds to a difference of 0.7kg at age 7. Our study shows a 61 per cent reduction in the risk of being overweight or obese at age 7 for each extra hour of sleep".

For accurate results, children of aged 3 to 5 were made wearing accelerometers and with the help of this instrument it was found that all of them were sleeping for around 11 hours a day on average. Those with longest and shortest sleeps had a difference of more than three hours.

During the study, child’s physical activity levels, his birth weight, diet, along with maternal factors such as education, smoking and weight while pregnancy were also analyzed and even then a strong relationship between sleep and weight were developed.