Although the reasons aren't clear, some research suggests that sleep deprivation alters hormones involved in appetite control and metabolism.

It's also possible that people who sleep fewer hours either eat more or, because of fatigue, exercise less often.

Whatever the reason, the new findings suggest that sleeping 7 hours or more each night could help prevent the middle-age spread, according to the study authors.

Dr. Sanjay R. Patel of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland led the research.

Patel and his colleagues based their findings on data from the long-running Nurses' Health Study, which has followed the health of thousands of female nurses for the past 30 years.

On average, women who in 1986 said they usually slept 5 hours or less per night gained more weight over the next 16 years than those who slept for 7 hours per night or longer.

Although the effect was modest, Patel's team notes, even a relatively small weight gain can make a health difference; putting on an extra 10 pounds has been shown to double a person's risk of diabetes, for example.

And some of the weight gain was substantial. Sleep-deprived women were more likely to gain in excess of 30 pounds, and were 15 percent more likely to become obese as they grew older.

Consuming extra calories could not be blamed for the weight gain, the investigators add, because women who slept less also ate less. Similarly, differences in levels of physical activity did not appear to be a factor.

"These findings," the researchers conclude, "have the important implication that increasing sleep time among those sleeping less than 7 hours per night may represent a novel approach to obesity prevention."

SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology, November 15, 2006.

Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.

"Checklist" aims to improve colon cancer care

Last Updated: 2006-11-22 16:20:38 -0400 (Reuters Health)

By Amy Norton

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Researchers have developed a checklist of measures they say could improve the quality of care for people undergoing colon cancer surgery.

It's becoming increasingly important to measure the quality of surgical care for colon cancer, as the population continues to age and more people are treated for the disease, according to researchers from the University of California Los Angeles.

Of the 148,000 Americans diagnosed with colon cancer this year, up to 95 percent will have surgery to remove their tumors -- at facilities ranging from major medical centers to community hospitals and local surgery centers.

To help develop uniform "quality indicators" for patient care before, during and after surgery, the UCLA researchers reviewed medical studies and interviewed leading colon cancer experts. A panel of surgeons then helped them develop a final list of 92 quality measures that's published in the current issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

The measures cover pre- and postoperative care, as well as the actual surgery -- including the series of tests and other evaluations that should be performed before surgery; the best surgical techniques for removing various types of colon tumors; and steps to monitor patients' recovery after the operation.

While most doctors and nurses are probably taking many of these steps, they can now have a way of ensuring that everything gets done, according to the UCLA team.

"These indicators could be easily translated into the daily practice of physicians taking care of patients with colorectal cancer," said Dr. Marcia L. McGory, the lead author of the report.

"A checklist could be developed based on these quality measures to ensure that the patient receives all of the appropriate care before the operation, during the operation, and during the postoperative hospital stay," she told Reuters Health.

The quality measures will be available to doctors in the form of a CD. They can also be used by hospitals to track the overall quality of their colon cancer care and to figure out what needs improvement, the researchers say.

SOURCE: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, November 15, 2006.

Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.