A good night’s sleep in the early years of life could be very important in preventing a child becoming obese, say scientists. Babies and pre-school children who sleep for less than ten hours a night are more likely to be overweight when they are older, research has found. Experts believe that those who do not get enough sleep are more likely to feel hungry and want more calorie-rich food during the day.
Former research has linked sleeping with obesity in adults and teenagers, but this is one of the first to look at very young children. Researchers from the Universities of Washington and California looked at the sleeping habits of almost 1,000 children under the age of five. They found those who had less than ten hours’ sleep were twice as likely to be overweight five years later.
Childhood obesity has doubled over the past 10 years. A quarter of secondary school pupils are now judged to be so overweight that their health is in danger. Experts believe sleep, or lack（缺乏）of it, could be a major cause of this. On average children are sleeping for an hour less than they did 30 years ago. Last year Chinese researchers looked at more than 5,000 youngsters and found that those who were able to catch up on （補(bǔ)充）sleep at the weekend were far less likely to get body weight problems. Scientists have also found a link between lack of sleep and diabetes（糖尿病）. Last year Canadian researchers discovered those who did not get seven or eight hours’ sleep a night were two and a half times more likely to become sick.
【小題1】The underlined word “obese” in the first paragraph may mean .
| A．quite protective | B．very sad |
| C．very fat | D．quite young |
【小題2】According to Chinese researchers, if a person who lacks sleep can get more sleep during weekends,
.
| A．he won’t get hungry easily | B．he will feel tired all the time |
| C．there will be little chance of him becoming fat |
| D．it will be very hard for him to fall asleep at night |
【小題3】From the passage we know
.
| A．too little sleep will result in illness besides obesity |
| B．in the past people didn’t connect sleep with weight |
| C．fat children must have slept less than 10 hours five years ago |
| D．most children are unhealthy because of little sleep |
【小題4】What would be the best title of the passage?
| A．A good night’s sleep helps the development of kids’ brain! |
| B．Ten hours’ sleep prevents overweight in kids! |
| C．Children are sleeping much less nowadays! |
| D．More teenagers get weight problems! |
【小題5】Where can you most probably read this passage?
| A．In the latest news. | B．In a children’s book. |
| C．In a health magazine. | D．In a scientist’s diary. |
