Chaput, J. P., Brunet, M., & Tremblay, A. (2006). Relationship between short sleeping hours and childhood overweight/obesity: Results from the 'Québec en Forme' Project. International Journal of Obesity, 30(7), 1080-5.

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Abstract

Objective

To assess the relationship between short sleep duration and obesity-related variables in children involved in the 'Québec en Forme' Project.

Design

Cross-sectional study.

Subjects

A total of 422 children (211 boys and 211 girls) aged between 5 and 10 years from primary schools in the City of Trois-Rivières (Québec) were selected to participate in this study.

Measurements

Body weight, height and waist circumference were measured. The children were classified as normal, underweight, overweight or obese, according to body mass index (BMI) per age. An exhaustive questionnaire was administered by telephone to the parents of children.

Results

The percentage of overweight/obesity was 20.0% in boys and 24.0% in girls. When compared to children reporting 12-13 h of sleep per day, the adjusted odds ratio for childhood overweight/obesity was 1.42 (95% confidence interval 1.09-1.98) for those with 10.5-11.5 h of sleep and 3.45 (2.61-4.67) for those with 8-10 h of sleep after adjustment for age, sex, and other risk factors. Parental obesity, low parental educational level, low total family income, long hours of TV watching, playing videogames or computer utilization, absence of breastfeeding and physical inactivity were also significantly associated with childhood overweight/obesity. In addition, we observed a significant negative association adjusted for age between sleep duration and body weight (-0.33, P<0.01), BMI (-0.12, P<0.01) and waist circumference (-0.24, P<0.01) in boys.

Conclusion

An inverse association was observed between sleep duration and the risk to develop childhood overweight/obesity. Longitudinal research will be required to confirm a potential link of causality between these variables.

MeSH Terms
    Anthropometry/methods
    Body Constitution
    Body Mass Index
    Body Weight/physiology
    Child
    Child, Preschool
    Cross-Sectional Studies
    Female
    Humans
    Male
    Obesity/etiology*
    Overweight/physiology
    Risk Factors
    Sleep/physiology*
    Socioeconomic Factors
    Time Factors