Sleep And Weight Control: Media Accuracy, Reductionism, Lead Happier Lives

Sleep and weight control have become a major concern in today’s population. Insufficient and irregular sleep often leads to undesirable outcomes such as depression, mood disturbance, and poor performances in daily life. On the other hand, the problem of obesity also has a great impact on individuals’ health status. Hence, the strategies for weight control often attract readers’ attention on the new articles. However, the media portrayal of these topics such as sleep and weight control remain controversial. Information included in popular presses is often simplified to be easy to read and understand by the general population. Reductionistic content may ignore many other factors that lead to the behaviour and may deliver misleading information to readers. Hence, would readers lead happier and more fulfilling lives if they knew more about the psychobiological underpinnings of behaviour need to be investigated.

Media often promote the importance of sufficient sleep and weight control. Sleep deprivation and obesity has become a concern in the population. The prevalence of overweight and obesity in Australia increased from 56. 3% in 1995 to 62. 8% of the population in 2011-12. 16 out of 161 (10%) car crashes fatality in Western Australia were involved in fatigue-related car crashes. Studies show that insufficient and irregular sleep is associated with negative outcomes such as mood disturbance, poorer task performance, and car accidents. Previous study also demonstrate the effectiveness of different strategies for weight control. Information about improving sleep and weight control are more likely to attract readers’ attention and thereby providing basic knowledge which promotes public health. Sleep awareness campaigns and weight control programs are some interventions developed to improve public health and living quality of the population. The accuracy of media portrayal of sleeps and weight control, reductionism and whether knowing more about the psychobiological underpinnings of behaviour lead happier and more fulfilling lives will be discussed.

Sleep Media often portray sleep as an important behaviour that leads to positive outcomes in our daily life. Mastroianni (2018) reported that insufficient sleep has an impact on our circadian rhythms and metabolism which lead to weight gain. Moreover, sleep loss alters satiety hormones, feelings of hunger and makes an individual crave for high-fat and high-sugar comfort food and thereby results in weight gain. Sleep deprivation or lack of sleep influences cognitive functions and affects daily task performance. News article reported that irregular sleep patterns degrade students’ academic performances. Circadian rhythms are affected as a result of the delayed release of melatonin (sleep hormone) and the lack of light exposure, and makes individuals vulnerable to adverse outcomes such as weight gain and lower academic grades.

Several studies support that adequate and regular sleep patterns are positively associated with mental, physical and emotional performances in everyday life. For instance, sleep mediates the relationship between resiliency and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), helps in procedural learning, and enhances working memory and inhibitory control. The information reported were accurate with respect to the actual research from which the information was derived. By comparing with the actual research, Mastroianni (2018) accurately described the association of tissue-specific shift in DNA methylation with obesity, type II diabetes and genes that regulate adipose tissue function. DNA methylation due to sleep loss or disrupted sleep cycle influences metabolism and increases the risk of obesity and type II diabetes. A previous study with UK adults also demonstrated similar findings which suggest that lack of sleep leads to obesity or weight gain as a result of the alterations in metabolic tissues. Knight (2017) also provided an accurate summary of the influence of melatonin and light exposure on circadian rhythms. Physiological systems in our body degrade when the circadian rhythm is disrupted. For instance, an individual’s immune system may be weakened and lead to catching a cold.

Gonzalez-Rueda et al. (2018) emphasised the synaptic downscaling mechanism, which promotes the preservation of strong synapses, and showed that sleep may help our brains to strengthen the neural connections which enhance the storage of important information leading to better academic achievements. An accurate summary of sleep deprivation and procedural errors research and the negative consequences of sleep deprivation on procedure-heavy tasks such as surgery and driving, were included in the news article.

Findings of the studies are often simplified in the popular press for the general population so that they are easy to read and understand. For example, Walton (2018) focused mainly on addressing the consequences of sleep deprivation on procedural tasks instead of providing a thorough explanation of the role of memory maintenance while carrying out procedural tasks. From my perspective, knowing all the implications may help individuals raise their awareness and develop better prevention strategies. Driver fatigue education campaign in Queensland reported that three in ten respondents (27%) had discussed the issue of fatigue driving with family and friends after attending the campaign, whereas drivers not resting after 2 hours decrease from 29% to 15% of the population at the end of the first “Rest every 2 hours’ campaign in South Australia. Furthermore, reductionism can be undesirable as going overboard in simplicity can neglect many other factors. For instance, better academic performances may be a result of changes in study habits, increased revision time or participation in a study group. I believe that people probably lead happier lives if they know that sleep may enhance their daily performance. They may also change their sleep patterns if they know about these determinants. The findings show that individuals who receive interventions such as an in-person lecture or sleep diary, achieved significant improvement in sleep knowledge and the sleep duration of individuals who reported less than seven hours sleep at baseline increased by 30 minutes.

Another study also showed that the participants’ risk status of sleep significantly improved from high risk to not being high risk after receiving intervention which involved personalised health and wellbeing report, unlimited access to a web portal that included articles and interactive behaviour-change programs, and tailored emails. Based on the interventions, individuals benefit more from knowing the psychobiological underpinnings sleep such as circadian rhythms. Weight Control Weight control is usually implemented to obtain an ideal body figure. However, it is also crucial in helping underweight and overweight individuals to achieve a healthy weight. It is not only limited to eating less and exercise, but also involves understanding and controlling thoughts and behaviours that have an impact on weight loss. The popular press reported that eating slowly may lead to weight loss. Slow eaters have the lowest percentage of people with obesity, 21% self-reported slow eaters were obese when compared to 30% in normal-speed eaters and 45 % in fast eaters. Findings showed that individual’s waist size and body mass index (BMI) increased as eating speed increases.

On the other hand, Sweet (2018) reported in the news article that drinking green tea extract helps achieve a desirable weight and the control of weight because the high concentration of catechins (antioxidants) and caffeine in green tea extracts are associated with the reduction in body fat and weight loss. Cassetty (2018) stated that individuals who have larger nutrient intakes during breakfast demonstrated twice the amount of weight loss compared to individuals who have larger nutrient intakes during dinner. Eating more in the morning than at night may help to achieve a healthier body weight, regulate hormones, blood sugar and cholesterol levels, and improve the body’s metabolism. These brief popular press summaries demonstrated a certain degree of accuracy in describing the general topic of weight control. According to the news article and the actual research, slower eating speed showed effectiveness in weight control whereas symptoms such as impaired glucose tolerance, insulin resistance and diabetes due to increase in body weight, were observed in fast eaters. The contribution of eating quickly to obesity may be a combined effect of quick eating speed and overeating habit despite adequate amount of calories consumed. Eating quickly also increases BMI.

A previous study with similar findings suggested that eating quickly may lead to weight gain as fast eating speed is often associated with increased total energy intake, reduced satiety and insulin resistance. By comparing with the actual research, Cassetty (2018) also accurately discussed the influences of meal intake timing on weight loss. The time of nutrient intake may affect circadian rhythms and thereby influences the metabolic syndrome which is a combination of abnormalities such as glucose intolerance and hypertension. Disrupted circadian rhythms can affect the activity of enzyme and hormones that promote metabolism. The finding also suggested that skipping breakfast and overeating in the evening influences circadian rhythms and leads to weight gain and obesity. Arble, Bass, Laposky, Vitsterna, and Turek (2012) carried out a study on circadian timing of food intake and weight gain and found that simply modifying the time of food intake can have a great impact on body weight.

News articles about weight control are often reductionistic in trying to get the point across. For example, although Sweet (2018) talked about pairing the extract with other healthy changes such as regular exercise and eating unprocessed foods for the best result, a clear description about the consequences of having excess green tea extract is not included. Readers may underestimate the consequences of drinking high doses of extract such as diarrhoea, irregular heartbeat, headaches, and sleep problems to lose weight. Pregnant women should also avoid drinking green tea extract as it may lead to miscarriage due to caffeine content. Moreover, the individual differences in the sensitivity towards certain food, for example green tea, are often neglected while implementing a diet plan to lose weight. Obesity may be a result of environmental factors such as food availability and media advertisements instead of biological factors. However, advertisements that emphasise a perfect body image also plays an important role in providing individuals the motivational support for weight control.

From my point of view, knowing more about the biological determinants of weight control will lead to happier and more fulfilling lives. People are more likely to change their diet and habits for weight control purpose if they know more about the biological determinants of losing weight. A study shows that worksite nutrition and physical activity interventions help to improve employees’ weight status. During interventions, employees attended informational and educational programs that build knowledge of optimal health practices. The data shows consistent effects of interventions on employees’ weight status. This research shows that healthy diet and physical activities such as exercise demonstrate best result when knowledge about weight control is delivered.

In conclusion, information included in the media and popular presses are often simplified and reductionistic. However, most of the summaries provide accurate information about studies which are easy to read and understand and may lead to happier and more fulfilling lives. Readers may understand the importance of sufficient and regular sleep patterns and effective strategies of weight control through information reported in news articles.