(CNN) Polar bears are starving and could face extinction faster than previously thought, according to a new study.

Published Thursday in the journal Science , the study was conducted by researchers who fixed collars on nine bears and recorded their activity levels for up to 11 days. They found that the Arctic creatures were suffering an extreme shortage of food.

As a result of climate change, the sea ice in the Arctic is melting and forcing the bears to travel further and use more energy to catch their prey.

The three-year study conducted by the US Geological Survey and University of California, Santa Cruz, found that the Arctic predators are moving 1.6 times more than previous studies have reported. That increased movement in the search for food leaves them shorter on the calories they need.

"The purpose was to get a better understanding of what the changes in sea levels are and how they are impacting the polar bears," Anthony Pagano, a lead researcher in the study, told CNN.