Susan Redline – författare

Sleep Loss and Obesity: Intersecting Epidemics  represents a major contribution to the field of sleep medicine.  It is a comprehensive review of the neurobiology of sleep, circadian timing and obesity, the deleterious effects of sleep loss and obesity on health, and the worrisome associated social and medical costs in a range of patient populations and overall to society.

The number of individuals who are obese has reached alarming levels.  As a result, the incidence of Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disorders, heart disease, and kidney failure have also increased.  The surgeon general estimates that the total annual cost of obesity in the US is about $117 billion.  This cost is expected to escalate significantly because the number of overweight and obese children is increasing rapidly.  Indeed, the new generation is expected to have a shorter life-span then their parents.  In addition, sleep loss is emerging as an important contributing factor to obesity.  People who sleep less or are sleep deprived tend to eat more, especially carbohydrates, and have a higher body mass index. Increased weight restricts the upper airway, causing obstructive sleep apnea and further sleep loss.  In the end there is a vicious cycle of weight gain and sleep loss.

In the past few years there has been a tremendous growth in our understanding of brain mechanisms controlling energy metabolism.  Interestingly the neurons regulating waking also regulate feeding.  There is also a mechanism that regulates the timing of feeding and sleep.  In shift-workers this system is likely to be disturbed, and this has an adverse impact on both feeding and sleep.

Sleep Loss and Obesity: Intersecting Epidemics is the first title to clearly examine how obesity and sleep loss are interacting epidemics. This fascinating title makes the link between energy metabolism, sleep and circadian timing; identifies poor sleep as arisk-factor for obesity in children and adults and offers treatment strategies for obstructive sleep apnea and obesity. This book will be a vital source of information for all physicians interested in sleep disorders and obesity. It will also be of value to neuroscientists, health system administrators, and policy makers.

Sleep has recently been recognized as a critical determinant of energy balance regulating, restoration and repair of many of the physiologic and psychologic processes involved in modulating energy intake and utilization. In addition to having an impact on obesity, sleep abnormalities, both quantitative and qualitative, have now been shown to have significant effects on obesity associated comorbidities, including metabolic syndrome, premalignant lesions and cancer. Sleep problems and fatigue also constitute a significant challenge for the ever expanding group of cancer survivors. Moreover, circadian misalignment, such as that experienced by "shift workers" has been shown to be associated with an increased incidence of several malignancies including, breast, colorectal and prostate cancer, consistent with the increasing recognition of the role of clock genes in the metabolic processes. Of increasing concern is the accelerating incidence of sleep disorders in childhood, their association with childhood obesity and associated abnormalities of circulating cytokines, adipokines and metabolic factors, many of which are implicated as etiologic mediators of the connection between obesity and cancer.

Extensive studies have now been initiated to investigate the mechanisms by which disturbances in sleep duration, sleep continuity and sleep related breathing affect circadian rhythm, central and peripheral tissue oxygenation and metabolism, quality and quantity of dietary intake and circulating inflammatory cytokines and regulatory hormones. This volume aims to present the latest research on sleep, sleep disturbance and its correlation to obesity and cancer.