Sixteen year old Isabel Ching is like most kids her age--she loves to stay up late and watch TV as often as she can.
The result is as predictable as a situation comedy.
"When I stay up late I wake up much later than usual I find that over the summer, especially during the breaks I gain a lot of weight,” Isabel said. “About ten to fifteen pounds."
Isabel didn't take part in an Australian study but she may as well be its poster child.
Researchers at the University of South Australia found that when kids sleep is as important how long kids sleep.
Researchers compared sleeping habits--including early to bed, early risers and late to bed, late risers and found that even though each group got the same amount of sleep--the late to bed, late risers were 1 and a half times more likely to gain weight.
Baylor-Plano Dr. Nick Nicholson said he isn’t surprised--staying up just a few hours later can make a huge difference.
"What's that person doing between nine and midnight?” Dr. Nicholson asked. “Well, we know what normally goes on and they are usually in front of the TV or computer and there is a lot of snacking that goes on during that."
Dr. Nicholson said people who sleep late exercise less--and that's exactly what researchers found--early to bed, early risers got about a half hour more of moderate to vigorous exercise.
"This is all about behavior, when you are bored what do you tend to do?” Dr. Nicholson said. “Well, some people may smoke, some people may pace, some people, a lot of us may eat. If you find yourself with excessive free time that is a very common way of filling that time."
Sound familiar? It does to Isabel.
During the summer she and her friends watch movies until three in the morning and as she called it--pigs out.
During school she's playing tennis, track and soccer and going to bed early.
"During school I weigh about 105 to 115 depending on how many sports I'm playing at the time,” Isabel said. “During the summer I can weigh about 125 to almost 129, 130."
Isabel supplied proof in the form of a photograph take last summer during a visit to Stanford University when she estimated her weight at about 125 pounds.
She figures she and her friends have been schooled by lazy, summer days and nights.
"Hopefully,” Isabel said. “We could all go to sleep earlier."
