Insufficient sleep and obesity: cause or consequence

Sleep is an ancient and evolutionarily conserved biological process that, when disturbed, increases the risk for a variety of diseases in people, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, and cancer. Although results from epidemiological studies support the link between insufficient sleep and an increased risk of obesity, the directionality of this link is unknown. Results from short-term controlled clinical studies, conducted almost exclusively in people who are normal weight, demonstrate that sleep restriction increases hunger, appetite, energy intake, and body weight. However, the authors are not aware of any studies that have evaluated the effect of more than 3 weeks of experimental sleep restriction on obesity risk factors, and few studies have been conducted in people with preexisting obesity. This Perspective reviews the link between insufficient sleep and obesity risk and the potential therapeutic effects of sleep extension in people with chronic sleep insufficiency.