But the sleep-weight connection doesn’t end with childhood. Research suggests that amount of sleep affects adults’ weight, tooAssociation between reduced sleep and weight gain in women. Patel, SR., Malhotra, A., White, DP., et al. Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University Hospitals of Cleveland, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA. American Journal of Epidemiology 2006 Nov 15;164(10):947-54.. One study found women who slept five hours per night had an increased chance of gaining weight or becoming obese compared to those who slept seven hours per night. In some people, sleep deprivation might even be a risk factor for obesitySleep deprivation as a risk factor for obesity. Chamorro, R.A., Durán, S.A., Reyes, S.C. et al. Revista médica de Chile 2011;139(7):932-40.. And it looks like we should avoid browsing Tastespotting after pulling an all-nighter: After a night of sleep loss, the brain region that controls appetite lights up more in response to images of foodAcute Sleep Deprivation Enhances the Brain’s Response to Hedonic Food stimuli: An fMRI Study. Benedict, C., Brooks, S.J., O’Daly, O.G., et al. Departments of Neuroscience, Radiology, and Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom; Interdisciplinary Obesity Center, Katonsspital St. Gallen, Switzerland; Department of Neuroendocrinonlogy, University of Lubeck, Lubeck, Germany. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 2012. Epub ahead of print.. (Try getting some rest and then tackling the temptation…)