Inadequate Sleep as a Risk Factor for Obesity: Analyses of the NHANES I

• Published in: Sleep (New York, N.Y.) Vol. 28; no. 10; pp. 1289 - 1296
• Main Authors: Gangwisch, James E., Malaspina, Dolores, Boden-Albala, Bernadette, Heymsfield, Steven B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Rochester, MN American Academy of Sleep Medicine 01.10.2005
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biological and medical sciences; Body Mass Index; Bulimia; Cross-Sectional Studies; Demography; Disorders of Excessive Somnolence - diagnosis; Disorders of Excessive Somnolence - epidemiology; Eating behavior disorders; Female; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Obesity - diagnosis; Obesity - epidemiology; Obesity - etiology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Sleep Deprivation - complications; Sleep Deprivation - diagnosis; Sleep Deprivation - epidemiology; Smoking - epidemiology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Human; Obesity; Factor analysis; Sleep; Body weight; Nutrition disorder; Risk factor; Sleep wake cycle; Nutritional status
• ISSN: 0161-8105; 1550-9109
• DOI: 10.1093/sleep/28.10.1289

Sleep deprivation has been hypothesized to contribute toward obesity by decreasing leptin, increasing ghrelin, and compromising insulin sensitivity. This study examines cross-sectional and longitudinal data from a large United States sample to determine whether sleep duration is associated with obesity and weight gain. Longitudinal analyses of the 1982-1984, 1987, and 1992 NHANES I Followup Studies and cross-sectional analysis of the 1982-1984 study. Probability sample of the civilian noninstitutionalized population of the United States. Sample sizes of 9,588 for the cross-sectional analyses, 8,073 for the 1987, and 6,981 for the 1992 longitudinal analyses. Measured weight in 1982-1984 and self-reported weights in 1987 and 1992. Subjects between the ages of 32 and 49 years with self-reported sleep durations at baseline less than 7 hours had higher average body mass indexes and were more likely to be obese than subjects with sleep durations of 7 hours. Sleep durations over 7 hours were not consistently associated with either an increased or decreased likelihood of obesity in the cross-sectional and longitudinal results. Each additional hour of sleep at baseline was negatively associated with change in body mass index over the follow-up period, but this association was small and statistically insignificant. These findings support the hypothesis that sleep duration is associated with obesity in a large longitudinally monitored United States sample. These observations support earlier experimental sleep studies and provide a basis for future studies on weight control interventions that increase the quantity and quality of sleep.