A study published on Monday found that people who sleep less tend to be fat, and experts said it’s time find if more sleep will fight obesity. “We’ve put so much emphasis on diet and exercise that we’ve failed to recognize the value of good sleep,” said Fred Turek, a physician at Northwestern University. “In fact society emphasizes just the opposite,” in work places where billed hours are crucial and long work days are common, he added. Monday’s study from Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk covered 1,000 people and found that total sleep time decreased as body mass index -- a measure of weight based on height -- increased. Men slept an average of 27 minutes less than women and overweight and obese patients slept less than patients with normal weights, it said. In general the fatter subjects slept about 1.8 hours a week less than those with normal weights.
