PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Doctors at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia say they may have identified a way to reduce the risk of obese teenagers getting type 2 diabetes. It’s as simple as following time-honored advice: get a good night’s sleep.

A study of 62 obese teenagers at CHOP found that those who got a solid eight hours of sleep were able to secrete more insulin and had healthier glucose levels than the sleep deprived.

Doctor Dorit Koren says the study suggests that sleep may be a bigger factor in the development of diabetes than most parents are aware, “It is absolutely important to good health that in addition to counseling parents about diet and exercise, we counsel parents of children and adolescents to make sure they get enough sleep.”

Dr. Koren says it’s often difficult for teenagers to get enough sleep because school schedules don’t accommodate the way the body clock changes in adolescence and this study is among the research that argues for later school start times.

Reported by Pat Loeb, KYW Newsradio 1060