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Sleep during Infancy and Associations with Childhood Body Composition: A Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis

Margreet W Harskamp-van Ginkel1, Mai J M Chinapaw2, Irene A Harmsen3

  • 1Department of Public Health, Amsterdam Public Health research institute, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Childhood Obesity (Print)
|November 7, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Preventing childhood overweight requires early intervention. This review found inconsistent evidence linking infant sleep duration in the first two years to healthier childhood body composition.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Public Health
  • Sleep Medicine

Background:

  • Childhood overweight prevention is critical, ideally starting within the first 1000 days of life.
  • Sleep is a modifiable behavior alongside diet and physical activity during this crucial developmental period.
  • Understanding the relationship between early sleep patterns and later body composition is vital for public health strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically review and synthesize existing literature on the association between infant sleep (≤24 months) and childhood body composition (≤12 years).
  • To identify trends and inconsistencies in research findings regarding sleep and body composition in early life.
  • To inform future research and interventions for preventing childhood overweight.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic review registered with PROSPERO (CRD42018087088) and conducted following the PRISMA statement.
  • Searched for longitudinal studies with a minimum 6-month follow-up, published up to July 31, 2019.
  • Included 19 studies, assessing sleep duration (n=18) or sleep problems (n=2), with sleep assessed before 12 months in 14 studies. Methodological quality was evaluated.

Main Results:

  • Inconsistent evidence was found regarding the association between longer infant sleep duration and healthier childhood body composition.
  • Sleep duration was the primary sleep metric studied, with limited research on sleep problems.
  • Methodological quality varied, with 5 studies rated strong, 5 moderate, and 9 weak.

Conclusions:

  • The current evidence is inconclusive on whether longer sleep duration in infancy predicts better body composition in childhood.
  • Further high-quality longitudinal research is needed to clarify the role of infant sleep in preventing childhood overweight.
  • Sleep, alongside diet and physical activity, remains a key area for investigation in early life health interventions.

Keywords:
childhood obesityinfant sleeplongitudinal studiessleep duration

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