Scientists say that not getting a good night's rest could lead to obesity, the Daily Mail reported.

The researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, studied 17 normal, healthy young men and women for eight nights, with half of the participants sleeping normally and half sleeping only two-thirds their normal time.

The sleep deprived group, who slept one hour and 20 minutes less than the other group each day, consumed an average 549 additional calories daily. Meanwhile, the amount of energy used for activity didn't significantly change between groups, suggesting that those who slept less didn't burn additional calories and sleep deprivation may be a cause of weight gain and obesity.

(China.org.cn April 8, 2012)

据英国《每日邮报》报道，科学家认为，晚上睡眠不好会导致肥胖。

明尼苏达州罗切斯特梅奥诊所的研究人员对17位健康的青年男女进行了连续八个晚上的调查。他们中一半的人正常睡觉，另一半只睡平常睡眠时间的三分之二。

结果发现，虽然睡眠不足的这组比另一组每天少睡1小时20分钟，但他们摄入的热量却比睡眠充足的那组人平均每天多549卡路里，可是两组人在活动中消耗掉的热量却没有明显差别。这就是说，睡眠少的人并没有燃烧掉额外摄入的热量，而睡眠不足很可能是体重增加和肥胖的原因之一。