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The association between sleep duration and weight in treatment-seeking preschoolers with obesity

Lisa M Clifford1, Dean W Beebe, Stacey L Simon

  • 1Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229-3039, United States.

Sleep Medicine
|July 31, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Longer sleep duration in obese preschoolers is linked to lower BMI and reduced caloric intake. Adequate sleep is a key factor for effective weight management in children.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric obesity research
  • Sleep science
  • Behavioral health interventions

Background:

  • Childhood obesity is a growing public health concern.
  • Sleep duration is a modifiable behavior that may influence weight.
  • Family-based weight management programs aim to improve health outcomes in children.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between nocturnal sleep duration and weight and caloric intake in obese preschoolers.
  • To determine if sleep duration predicts changes in body mass index and caloric intake within a weight management program.

Main Methods:

  • Forty-one obese preschoolers (BMI ≥ 95th percentile) in a weight management program were assessed.
  • Pre- and posttreatment data on body mass, caloric intake, and sleep duration were collected.
  • Linear regression analyses examined the relationship between sleep duration and outcomes, controlling for baseline values.

Main Results:

  • Longer posttreatment sleep duration was significantly associated with lower posttreatment BMI z-scores (β=-0.21, p=0.02).
  • Longer sleep duration was also significantly associated with lower posttreatment caloric intake (β=-0.45, p=0.003).
  • Sleep duration explained a significant proportion of variance in both BMI z-scores (ΔR(2)=0.04) and caloric intake (ΔR(2)=0.19).

Conclusions:

  • Findings suggest adequate sleep is an important component of weight management interventions for obese preschoolers.
  • This research adds to the understanding of the sleep-weight relationship in pediatric populations.
  • Promoting sufficient sleep may enhance the effectiveness of interventions for childhood obesity.
Abstract

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