A recent US study has found that teenagers who sleep less than eight hours a night are more likely to eat a high-fat diet that puts them at a greater risk of obesity and the various associated health problems.

The research found that these sleep-deprived teenagers consumed 2.2% more energy from fat, more total energy and snacked more often than those who slept eight hours or more a night.

Over the last decade the links between sleep deprivation and weight gain have been repeatedly shown but this is the first research linking it back to teenagers. It is believed that sleep deprived teenagers may suffer similar metabolic disturbances as those linked to obesity and insulin resistance in other groups such as shift workers whose sleep patterns are also irregular.

Metabolic changes associated with sleep deprivation are believed to change the level of appetite-regulating hormones such as leptin and ghrelin, setting the stage for poor eating habits.

Teenagers need about nine hours of sleep each night to feel rested and alert the next day, but few teens achieve this with most averaging about seven. Adolescent lifestyles encourage teenagers to stay up late socializing on phones and computers, playing video games and watching television.

Whilst it is generally accepted that a “calorie is a calorie” regardless of its source, nutrition experts are now starting to question this standpoint suggesting the calories from fat are more likely to be stored than burned. Also the more fat consumed the more craved. Teenagers are also more likely to skip breakfast after sleeping later in the morning and eating later of an evening – both of which increase the incidence of fat gain.

The research in question measured the hours slept of 240 teenagers for 5-7 consecutive 24-hour periods on weekdays. The teenagers wore wrist monitors designed to measure movement in order to determine sleep patterns, next they were interviewed about their eating habits (what, how much, when and where they ate).

Those who averaged less than eight hours a night had an average energy intake of  8265kJ/day. Those managed more than eight hours sleep per night had an average energy intake of 7236kJ/day.

66% of the surveyed teenagers slept less than 8 hours per night.

With the growing rates of child and teen over weightiness and obesity additional sleep may be one of the recommendations that could assist with this global problem.