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The associations among objectively estimated sleep and obesity indicators in elementary schoolchildren

Teresa Arora1, Hoda Gad2, Omar M Omar2

  • 1Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, Doha, Qatar; Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA; College of Natural and Health Sciences, Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Sleep Medicine
|June 9, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Children sleeping less than 8 hours nightly show increased obesity indicators. Insufficient sleep is a key factor in childhood obesity, necessitating lifestyle interventions promoting better sleep habits.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Endocrinology
  • Sleep Medicine
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Childhood obesity is a growing global health concern.
  • Previous studies linked shorter sleep duration to obesity but relied on subjective measures.
  • Objective sleep data and multiple obesity indicators were lacking in prior research.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between objectively measured sleep parameters and various obesity indicators in schoolchildren.
  • To provide a more accurate understanding of the sleep-obesity relationship in children.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional study of 335 elementary schoolchildren (aged 7-12 years).
  • Objective sleep features measured using wrist actigraphy for 264 participants over seven days.
  • Five obesity indicators assessed, with overweight/obesity defined by WHO and International Obesity Task Force criteria.

Main Results:

  • Average weekday sleep duration was 7.6 hours; 42.1% of children were overweight/obese.
  • Children sleeping <8 hours showed significantly higher BMI z-scores, waist circumference, body fat percentage, and fat mass.
  • Sleeping <8 hours was associated with a 3.75 to 4.79 times increased risk of being overweight/obese.

Conclusions:

  • Sleep insufficiency is a significant factor contributing to childhood obesity.
  • Lifestyle interventions should prioritize sleep improvement alongside other healthy behaviors.
  • Addressing sleep duration is crucial for tackling the public health challenge of childhood obesity.
Abstract

Keywords:
ObesitySchoolchildrenSleep

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