MONDAY, Aug. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Getting too little sleep or not spending enough time in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is associated with being overweight among children and teens, a new U.S. study.

For three consecutive nights, researchers assessed the sleep patterns of 335 youngsters, aged 7 to 17. They looked at total sleep time, time spent in REM, and time it took to fall asleep. Body-mass index was checked at the start of the study, and 45 participants (13.4 percent) were overweight, while 49 (14.6 percent) were at risk for becoming overweight.

Find out why women need to be concerned about body-mass index and waist measurements.

A new study from England suggests the size of your belly in relation to your hips may directly influence your risk for developing heart problems. People with a large waistline and relatively smaller hips (a “pot belly” shape) appear to be more likely to develop coronary disease than those who carry weight at both waist and hips or primarily in the hips.