The association between short sleep duration and weight gain is dependent on disinhibited eating behavior in adults

To investigate whether the relationship between short sleep duration and subsequent body weight gain is influenced by disinhibited eating behavior.

Six-year longitudinal study.

Community setting.

Two hundred seventy-six adults aged 21 to 64 years from the Quebec Family Study.

Body composition measurements, self-reported sleep duration, and disinhibition eating behavior trait (Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire) were determined at both baseline and after 6 years. For each sleep-duration group (short- [≤6 h] average, [7-8 h], and long- [≥9 h] duration sleepers), differences in weight gain and waist circumference were tested by comparing the lowest (score ≤ 3) versus the highest (score ≥ 6) disinhibition eating behavior tertiles using analysis of covariance, with adjustment for potential confounding factors. Individuals having both short sleep duration and high disinhibition eating behavior were more likely to gain weight and increase their abdominal circumference over time (P<0.05); however, short-duration sleepers having a low disinhibition eating behavior trait were not more likely to increase their adiposity indicators than were average-duration sleepers. Over the 6-year follow-up period, the incidence of overweight/obesity for short-duration sleepers with a high disinhibition eating behavior trait was 2.5 times more frequent than for short-duration sleepers with a low disinhibition eating behavior trait. Energy intake was significantly higher in short-duration sleepers with a high disinhibition eating behavior trait (P<0.05 versus all other groups).

We observed that having a high disinhibition eating behavior trait significantly increased the risk of overeating and gaining weight in adults characterized by short sleep duration. This observation is novel and might explain the interindividual differences in weight gain associated with short sleep duration.