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Prospective Associations between Weekend Catch-Up Sleep, Physical Activity, and Childhood Obesity

Wendy Yajun Huang1, Stephen Heung Sang Wong2

  • 11 Department of Sport and Physical Education, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong.

Childhood Obesity (Print)
|October 4, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Weekend catch-up physical activity, not sleep, reduced obesity risk in Chinese children over two years. Increasing moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) on weekends lowered obesity odds, highlighting its importance for child health.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric obesity research
  • Behavioral science in children
  • Public health and nutrition

Background:

  • Weekend catch-up sleep and low physical activity are common in children.
  • Previous studies on Chinese children show varied weekly physical activity patterns.
  • Understanding these patterns is crucial for addressing childhood obesity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the prospective associations between weekend catch-up sleep and physical activity patterns and childhood obesity over a 2-year period in Chinese children.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective analysis of 599 children from the UCAN cohort study over 2 years.
  • Assessment of weekly obesogenic behaviors (physical activity, sleep duration) using accelerometry and questionnaires.
  • Calculation and examination of weekend catch-up sleep and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in relation to obesity risk.

Main Results:

  • Each additional hour of average weekly sleep was linked to a 16% decrease in obesity odds.
  • Weekend catch-up sleep showed no association with obesity risk after adjusting for average sleep duration.
  • Weekend catch-up MVPA (≥20 minutes) was associated with significantly lower obesity risk.

Conclusions:

  • Weekend catch-up sleep did not mitigate childhood obesity risk.
  • Weekend catch-up moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) demonstrated a protective effect against childhood obesity.
  • Further research is needed to understand the drivers of these obesogenic behavior patterns.
Abstract

Keywords:
accelerometrychildrencompensationlongitudinal

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