Abstract
Insufficient average sleep duration has been inconsistently associated with poor diet and obesity risks in youth. Inconsistencies in findings across studies may be due to a general failure to examine associations in weekday versus weekend sleep. We hypothesized that greater variations in weekday and weekend sleep duration would be associated with more disinhibited eating behaviors, which, in turn, might be involved in the relationship between sleep and weight. We, therefore, examined, among healthy, non-treatment seeking youth, the associations of average weekly, weekend, and weekday sleep duration with eating in the absence of hunger (EAH), a disinhibited eating behavior associated with disordered eating and obesity. Sleep was assessed via actigraphy for 14 days. Participants completed a self-report measure of EAH. Adiposity was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Linear regressions were used to test the associations of sleep duration with EAH and the associations of sleep duration and EAH, with fat mass. Among 123 participants (8–17 years, 52.0% female, and 30.9% with overweight), there was no significant association between average weekly sleep and EAH. Further, there was no significant association among average weekly sleep duration or EAH and fat mass. However, average weekday sleep was negatively associated, and average weekend sleep was positively associated, with EAH (ps < 0.02). Weekend “catch-up” sleep (the difference between weekend and weekday sleep) was positively associated with EAH (p < 0.01). Findings indicate that shorter weekday sleep and greater weekend “catch-up” sleep are associated with EAH, which may place youth at risk for the development of excess weight gain over time.
Highlights
In the United States, over one third of children and adolescents currently have overweight and nearly 20% have obesity [1,2]
Nutrients 2019, 11, 1658 factors that have been associated with excess weight and adiposity among youth are insufficient sleep [6,7] and disinhibited eating behaviors
An objective measure of sleep duration, we found no significant association between average weekly sleep duration and self-reported eating in the absence of hunger (EAH)
Summary
In the United States, over one third of children and adolescents currently have overweight and nearly 20% have obesity [1,2]. Given the negative long-term health impacts of overweight and obesity [3,4,5], the elucidation of early, modifiable risk factors for excess weight gain is necessary to enhance the effectiveness of obesity prevention and treatment in children and adolescents. Nutrients 2019, 11, 1658 factors that have been associated with excess weight and adiposity among youth are insufficient sleep [6,7] and disinhibited eating behaviors (eating behaviors characterized by a lack of healthy restraint [8,9,10,11,12,13]). Most research indicates that younger children require more sleep, while older children and adolescents need less [15]. Recent data indicate that only 5% of youth get the recommended amount of sleep [17] and that insufficient sleep has been an increasing trend [18]
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