A new study by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine revealed that younger adults who get either little sleep or a lot of it may witness a wide expansion in their waistlines over time.

The study pointed especially on young minority women, a group most affected by obesity and chronic metabolic disease.

Researchers have discovered that among black and Hispanic adults younger than 40, those who normally take five hours or less sleep each night had a greater accumulation of belly fat over the next five years, compared to those who averaged six or seven hours.

The findings also pin pointed that there's more to "fat" than what we choose to eat - social factors such as the need to work three jobs in a bad economy - could be causing dangerous fat deposition around vital organs.

The study is reported to include 332 African-American and 775 Hispanic-American men and women aging 18 to 81. At the outset, all reported on their sleep habits, diets, exercise levels and other lifestyle factors.