LATE NIGHTS WATCHING THE FOOTBALL COULD MAKE YOU FAT
Staying up to watch England’s victory over Mexico may have lifted the spirits. Your waistline, however, may pay the penalty.
The World Cup runs for close to six weeks, with many matches kicking off late at night for British viewers.
A new study by US researchers suggests that repeatedly cutting sleep by around 90 minutes a night can gradually lead to weight gain and increase health risks.
Although participants spent more time awake, they also became more sedentary, spending longer sitting.
Researchers from Columbia University in New York tracked 95 adults who normally slept between seven and eight hours a night.
Participants delayed their usual bedtime by 90 minutes for one six-week period before returning to their normal sleep pattern for another six weeks.
Scientists monitored their sleep using wrist devices while tracking body weight, waist measurements, body composition and hormones linked to appetite.
The research, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, examined the effects of sleep loss itself. It did not look at the beer, pizzas and other indulgences that often accompany a late-night match, which could fuel further weight gain.
‘Clinically meaningful weight gain’
England fans are unlikely to get an early night this weekend, with the team scheduled to play Norway at 10pm on Saturday.
Participants who slept less gained an average of one pound over the six-week study and spent an extra 17 minutes a day sitting.
Dr Faris Zuraikat, assistant professor of nutritional medicine at Columbia University and the study’s first author, said the one-pound gain over six weeks might sound modest but could become significant over time.
“Our study was designed to mimic sleep patterns that most adults experience chronically,” he said.
“When extrapolated to a full year, we would expect that losing less than an hour and a half of sleep per night could result in clinically meaningful weight gain.”
Prof Marie-Pierre St-Onge, professor of nutritional medicine at Columbia University, said: “Our study shows that getting adequate sleep may help reduce the risk of weight gain and obesity-related conditions like heart disease and diabetes.
“People tend to gain weight over the course of their adulthood, and obesity is a major risk factor for heart disease.”
Losing modest amount of sleep
Previous research has shown that severe sleep deprivation can trigger changes in appetite and overeating.
However, the researchers wanted to investigate a more realistic pattern of mild sleep loss, similar to that experienced by many adults.
Prof St-Onge said previous studies reflected “the most extreme conditions” and did not show whether people losing a more modest amount of sleep for long periods would also gain weight.
The researchers estimate that about a third of adults regularly get only five or six hours of sleep a night.
The researchers also found that people remained more inactive even after accounting for the fact they had simply been awake for longer.
In previous studies involving the same participants, the researchers found that mild sleep restriction increased insulin resistance in women at higher risk of heart disease. The effects were more pronounced among women who were postmenopausal.
Another study found increased inflammatory cells in the heart among participants with elevated cardiovascular risk after similar periods of reduced sleep.
Prof St-Onge said: “Though more research is needed to further understand how sleep restriction leads to weight gain, all of our findings suggest that insufficient sleep increases the risk of obesity-related conditions like Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.”
If the World Cup keeps delivering late-night drama, fans may have one more reason to dread extra time.
2026-07-06T21:00:42Z
