How to get your teenager out of bed: Threaten them with FAT!
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Teenagers have long been noted for their love of lying in bed until lunchtime, whilst their despairing parents try everything short of blasting them with dynamite to rouse them from their pits.
But confronting them with some new research could be the key to getting them up and out - particularly weight conscious teenage girls - because scientists have discovered that lying in bed makes you FAT.
Medics at the University of South Australia found that teens who lie in bed until late every morning are 1.5 times more likely to end up overweight than those who get up at a reasonable hour.
Research conducted on 2,000 nine to 16-year-olds showed that early-rising teens take 30 minutes more exercise every day than night-owls. The study also revealed that bed-happy youngsters watch 300% more TV than is recommended, and spend 45 minutes extra online daily, presumably all from the sanctity of their duvets!
Dr Carol Maher, one of the study's researchers, said in the journal Sleep: "This should serve as a warning to teenagers who stay up late then sleep in."
Do you despair over your teenagers' sleeping habits?
Or do you think sleeping late is a natural part of growing up?
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