Youfa Wang, M.D. PhD from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has found a clear connection between lack of sleep and child obesity (Journal of the Obesity Society February 2008).
In her study group, each additional hour of sleep a child received would decrease their risk of obesity by 9%.
They recognize that the following areas still need further research: how quality of sleep factors in, if this connection carries on through adulthood, exactly how lack of sleep causes obesity ...
... however, since the connection between healthy sleep and general health is so strongly established (mental acuity, immune strength, stress and exercise recovery), there's no reason why you shouldn't take this as a call to begin improving your sleep patterns immediately.
"8 hours" is the generally accepted recommendation for healthy adults, but the exact amount you personally need for peak performance may not be so simple. For further study: How Much Sleep Do I Need? (Web MD) and How Much Sleep Do We Really Need? (National Sleep Foundation)
Suggested Resources: Simpleology 103: The Simple Science of Energy
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