Teens who skimp on sleep may face later obesity risk

Teens who skimp on sleep could be setting themselves up for obesity just a few years later, a new study suggests.

Researchers from Columbia University and the University of North Carolina found an association between getting fewer than six hours of shut-eye a night at age 16 and having a 20 percent higher risk of obesity by age 21, compared with 16-year-olds who slept more than eight hours a night.