New Study: Lack of a Full Night's Sleep Can Make You Fat

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"Disturbed sleep resulted in a 27 percent average decrease in insulin secretion after eating, and higher glucose levels over a longer period of time, sometimes high enough to make the subject prediabetic. In addition, there was an average 8 percent decrease in resting metabolism rate, a measure of how much energy the body consumes at rest, that translates into a theoretical weight gain of more than 12 pounds a year."


Previous studies also linked interrupted or poor sleep to higher cortisol blood levels, which was thought to explain some of the weight gain.  It has also been speculated that those who keep late hours to go to sleep tend to overeat at night.   But this study actually measured insulin response and blood sugar in those who had interrupted sleep and saw a dramatic decrease in insulin's effectiveness at controlling blood sugar.  


So, to keep from gaining weight, it is not only important to eat healthy and exercise, but to try to get a full night sleep every night.  

Men with lower plasma concentrations of total testosterone have an increased risk of glucose intolerance or diabetes

Endocrinol Nutr. 2011 Jan 5. [Epub ahead of print]

Glucose tolerance and plasma testosterone concentrations in men. Results of the Asturias Study.

[Article in English, Spanish]

Menéndez E, Valdés S, Botas P, Delgado E, Abello N.

Servicio de Endocrinología y Nutrición, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias, Oviedo, España.

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Studies in men have demonstrated a correlation between serum concentrations of androgens and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) with the presence of impaired glucose tolerance, diabetes and metabolic syndrome. The aim of this study was to evaluate circulating levels of total testosterone, SHBG, and bioavailable testosterone in the cohort of the Asturias Study and their association with the degree of glucose tolerance and metabolic syndrome.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study population consisted of 282 men aged 36 to 85 years old with normal concentrations of total testosterone. The degree of glucose tolerance and the presence of metabolic syndrome were evaluated.

RESULTS: Serum concentrations of testosterone and bioavailable testosterone were negatively correlated with age, body mass index, waist circumference, blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin levels and insulin. Serum concentrations of total testosterone, bioavailable testosterone and SHBG were lower in men with glucose intolerance or diabetes than in those with normal glucose tolerance. After multivariate analysis, age and total testosterone levels were independent predictors of the presence of diabetes or glucose intolerance. The risk of glucose intolerance or diabetes mellitus was over 2.5 times higher in men with total testosterone levels in the lowest quartile than in those with total testosterone in the top quartile.

CONCLUSIONS: In this general population sample from Asturias, men with lower plasma concentrations of total testosterone - even when within the normal range - have an increased risk of glucose intolerance or diabetes, regardless of age and body mass index.