Abstract
Increasing attention is being focused on sleep duration as a potential modifiable risk factor associated with obesity in children and adolescents. We analyzed data from the national Youth Risk Behavior Survey to describe the association of obesity (self-report BMI ≥95th percentile) with self-reported sleep duration on an average school night, among a representative sample of US high school students. Using logistic regression to control for demographic and behavioral confounders, among female students, compared to 7 hours of sleep, both shortened (≤4 hours of sleep; adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval), AOR = 1.50 (1.05–2.15)) and prolonged (≥9 hours of sleep; AOR = 1.54 (1.13–2.10)) sleep durations were associated with increased likelihood of obesity. Among male students, there was no significant association between obesity and sleep duration. Better understanding of factors underlying the association between sleep duration and obesity is needed before recommending alteration of sleep time as a means of addressing the obesity epidemic among adolescents.
Highlights
IntroductionThe average amount of time that Americans sleep has decreased by approximately 20 percent [1]
During the past century, the average amount of time that Americans sleep has decreased by approximately 20 percent [1]
Mean sleep duration was shorter among female (6.7 hrs; 95% confidence intervals (CIs): 6.76.8) than male (6.9 hrs; 95% CI: 6.8-6.9) students (t = 8.78, P < 0.001)
Summary
The average amount of time that Americans sleep has decreased by approximately 20 percent [1]. It is currently estimated that 50 to 70 million Americans chronically suffer from disorders of sleep and wakefulness which adversely affect daily functioning, health, and longevity [4]. The cumulative effects of chronic sleep deprivation and sleep disorders have been associated with increased mortality and increased risk for a wide range of chronic diseases including depression, hypertension, stroke, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and obesity [4, 5]. The relationship between sleep and obesity has become a topic of great interest as obesity rates reach record levels and chronic sleep deprivation affects increasing numbers of adolescents and adults in the United States [4,5,6,7]. The two most commonly reported associations between sleep duration and obesity are (1) a U-shaped curve where the lowest obesity risk is found at about 7-8 hours of sleep per night, with the odds of obesity rising for shorter and longer sleep duration, leading to the optimal dose theory of habitual sleep duration and (2) a negative linear pattern where the longest sleep durations are associated with the least likelihood and the shortest sleep durations are associated with the greatest likelihood of obesity, leading to the more sleep is better theory of habitual sleep duration [5]
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