HOUSTON – Diet and exercise are the usual prescription for losing weight, but now researchers in Canada argue "more sleep" should be part of the formula too.
In the Canadian Medical Association Journal, researchers wrote an editorial in which they said there is strong evidence that lack of sleep is contributing to the obesity epidemic. They pointed to a study that tested two groups with the same diet and exercise routine.
Participants who slept 5.5 hours a night lost 55 percent less body fat and lost 60 percent more of their lean body mass than people who got 8.5 hours of sleep.
In other words, sleep-deprived people held onto their fat tissue, and instead lost muscle.