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Updated: May 10, 2026
Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Relationship between Chronic Short Sleep Duration and Childhood Body Mass Index: A School-Based Cross-Sectional Study
Claudia Pileggi1, Francesca Lotito, Aida Bianco
1Department of Health Sciences, University of Catanzaro "Magna Græcia", Catanzaro, Italy.
Insights
Children who chronically lack sleep have higher Body Mass Index (BMI). Public health strategies should prioritize adequate sleep duration for children to combat rising obesity rates.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Obesity Research
- Sleep Science
Background:
- Childhood obesity is a growing public health concern.
- Chronic sleep deprivation is increasingly recognized as a potential contributing factor.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between obesity and chronic short sleep duration in children.
- To determine if insufficient sleep independently influences childhood Body Mass Index (BMI).
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study of 542 fifth-grade children (approx. 10 years old) in Southern Italy.
- Parental questionnaires collected demographic, health, and lifestyle data.
- Multivariate linear regression analyzed the association between BMI and sleep duration.
Main Results:
- 36.7% of children were overweight or obese.
- 38.9% of children were classified as short sleepers (average sleep 9.4 hours).
- Short sleepers showed a significant 0.77 Kg/m² increase in BMI compared to normal sleepers (p=0.01).
Conclusions:
- Chronic short sleep is associated with higher BMI in middle childhood.
- Public health initiatives should incorporate adequate sleep duration alongside traditional lifestyle approaches to address childhood obesity.
Objective:
To assess relationship between obesity and chronic shorter sleep duration in children and to determine if lack of sleep represents an independent determinant of childhood Body Mass Index.
Methods:
This cross-sectional study was conducted in all children enrolled in the fifth class (approximately 10 years of age) of all public primary schools in Catanzaro (Southern Italy). The overall response rate was 62% resulting in 542 participating children. Parents completed a questionnaire with information on their demographics and socio-economic characteristics, their health status, characteristics of their child birth and health status. The sleeping habits were investigated in the 3 months preceding the consultation and parents were asked to indicate hours of bedtime and wake-up of their children. Multivariate linear regression analysis was performed to examine the association between child BMI and chronic lack of sleep.
Results:
36.7% of the children surveyed were overweight or obese. A quarter of children did not routinely play sports and many of them spent more than an hour a day watching TV (60.7%) and using videogames or computer (51.1%). Widespread dietary habits were inadequate, especially concerning vegetables and fruit intake with more than 95% of children who consumed insufficient amounts. The average duration of sleep was equal to 9.4 (SD = ±0.6) hours, and the short-sleepers accounted for 38.9% of the total sample. The results of multivariate analysis showed a significant 0.77 Kg/m(2) increase of BMI for children classified as short compared to normal sleepers (95%CI = 0.16-1.38, p = 0.01).
Conclusions:
Chronic lack of sleep appears to be associated to higher BMI even in middle childhood and strongly suggests that public health strategies, focused on promoting healthy lifestyles should include an innovative approach to ensure an adequate duration of sleep at night especially in children, alongside more traditional approaches.
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