Kids who go to sleep later ‘are much more likely to grow up to be obese’
Quarter of kids who stayed up past 9pm at 4 were already obese at 15, compared to just 1 in 10 if before 8pm
PUTTING children to bed earlier slashes their risk of growing up fat, say scientists.
It follows a study into kids aged 4½ whose weight was checked again in their mid-teens.
A quarter of those whose parents let them stay up past 9pm were already obese at 15.
But the figure dropped to 16 per cent if their bedtimes when younger were between 8pm and 9pm.
Those who were tucked up earlier still were even less likely to be dangerously overweight.
Just one in ten was obese at 15 if their bedtime was before 8pm.
A third of UK children aged two to 15 are obese — and the findings could help stem a health timebomb for the NHS.
Professor Sarah Anderson, who led the US study of 977 kids, urged parents to stick to a bedtime routine to safeguard their children’s future health.
She said: “It’s something concrete that families can do to lower their child’s risk.”
Young children are naturally programmed to go to sleep well before 9pm.
Prof Anderson, of Ohio State University, said earlier bedtimes were likely to have other “positive benefits”, such as on behaviour.