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Shorter sleep duration is associated with increased risk for being overweight at ages 9 to 12 years

Julie C Lumeng1, Deepak Somashekar, Danielle Appugliese

  • 1Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-0406, USA. jlumeng@umich.edu

Pediatrics
|November 3, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Shorter sleep duration in childhood is linked to a higher risk of being overweight. Ensuring adequate sleep may help prevent childhood obesity.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Health
  • Sleep Science
  • Obesity Research

Background:

  • The relationship between sleep and childhood overweight is not fully understood.
  • Previous research has not clearly defined the independent associations of sleep duration and problems with overweight risk.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the independent associations of sleep duration and sleep problems with the risk of overweight in children.
  • To examine the predictive value of early childhood sleep duration on later overweight status.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development.
  • Maternal reports of sleep duration and problems, with measured height and weight (overweight defined as BMI ≥ 95th percentile).
  • Logistic regression models adjusted for demographics, home environment factors, and prior BMI z-scores.

Main Results:

  • Shorter sleep duration in 3rd and 6th grades was independently associated with a higher likelihood of being overweight in 6th grade.
  • This association remained significant even when accounting for the child's weight status in 3rd grade.
  • Sleep problems, however, were not found to be associated with overweight status.

Conclusions:

  • Adequate sleep duration in childhood is a potential preventive factor against overweight.
  • Promoting sufficient sleep may be a key strategy in addressing childhood obesity.
Abstract

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