TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Research has found sleep deprivation can lead to an increase of fat in the belly and abdominal organs.
A press release issued by Chung Shan Hospital in Taipei City said that one third of American adults have the problem of sleeplessness because most of them spend a lot of time on social media and watching online videos. It can be inferred that the longer people stay awake, the more they eat, but their physical activity does not increase, which can have negative consequences.
Chung Shan Hospital obstetrician-gynecologist Wang Ling (王羚) said in the press release that research conducted by the Mayo Clinic in the U.S. confirmed that even young, slim, and healthy trial participants would slightly gain weight and have an increase of fat in the belly as a result of ingesting more calories after experiencing a period of sleep deprivation.
The increase in fat is mostly accumulated around the abdominal organs instead of under the skin as wrongly believed in the past. Even during the recovery period, when people recover from sleep insufficiency, ingest fewer calories, and lose weight, the fat in their organs will still increase, Wang added.
The Mayo Clinic research found that sleep deprivation can lead to a 9% increase in abdominal fat and an 11% increase in fat in the abdominal organs. Accumulation of fat in organs increases the chances of obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and metabolic syndrome, which in turn increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.
