Weight loss affected by sleep patterns and stress

According to US scientists, managing sleep and stress levels could help individuals to fight obesity.

A study published in the International Journal of Obesity recruited almost 500 obese patients to take part in a clinical trial by the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in the US.

The participants were required to eat 500 less calories per day than they usually would for a period of 6 months, as well as exercising and attending group weight loss sessions.

The results showed that people getting too much or too little sleep were the least likely to loose weight and it was those who began the study with the lowest stress levels that lost the most weight.

“These results suggest that early evaluation of sleep and stress levels in long-term weight management studies could potentially identify which participants might benefit from additional counselling.” Said researchers.

National Obesity Forum chair, Dr David Haslam has said that it would be a good idea to find predictors of who will respond to therapy.

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View the original BBC News article.