Lack of sleep can make you Fat!!!!

Everyone has heard of the freshman fifteen, many people I know attribute it to the large amounts of available junk food, lack of exercise, and heavy drinking. Yet, weight gain is a problem that spans past college communities. A recent article suggests that sleep loss may be the cause of our ever growing waistlines.
A study on loss of sleep has found a link between lack of sleep and weight gain. It has discovered that sleep is a major regulator of hormones leptin which tells us when we are full and ghrelin which signals hunger. Studying 12 healthy men in their 20's, researchers found that after only 4 hours of sleep leptin levels decreased by 18% and ghrelin levels increased by 28%. Also, hunger as a whole increased by 24%. Furthermore, the men reported craving sweets such as cookies, cake, and candy.
The results from this new study joined with the fact that many Americans are sleep deprived may explain the growing number of obese individuals. In 2002 it was reported that 37% of young adults slept less than 7 hours a night which was an increase of 21% from 1960. Since lack of sleep affects hormone levels, Dr. Seven B. Heymsfield found that people who slept 4 hours or less a night were 73% more likely to be obese than those who slept 7 hours a night.http://www.healthscout.com/template.asp?page=newsdetail&ap=68&id=522735