Associations between Sleep Duration and Anthropometric Indices of Adiposity in Female University Students

To examine associations between sleep duration as well as time of going to sleep and anthropometric indices related to the amount and distribution of adiposity.

A total of 969 female university students, aged 19-24 years.

Participants self-reported their sleep duration. Body weight, height, and waist circumference were measured. BMI, WHR and WHtR were calculated. Statistical analyses of results involved logistic regression models. Socioeconomic status and level of stress were added as covariates.

In 15% of the sample, sleep was too short (<6 h), and 10% slept too long (>8 h). Compared to women who followed the recommended sleep duration, among short sleepers, both underweight and overweight were more frequent, while long sleepers were more likely to be overweight. A higher prevalence of abdominal obesity and increased risk of metabolic syndrome were observed in both short and long sleepers than in recommended sleepers. Irregular sleep times were connected with higher OR, both for BMI < 18.5 and BMI > 25, for WC > 80, and WHtR below 0.4 and above 0.5. Irregular sleep times also led to an increased risk of metabolic diseases prevalence.

Both too long and too short sleep increases the risk of overweight, obesity and abdominal obesity and, as a consequence, the risk of metabolic syndrome in young women.