The association between sleep duration and weight in treatment-seeking preschoolers with obesity

摘要

Objective: To examine the association between nocturnal sleep duration and weight and caloric intake outcomes among preschool-aged children who are obese and enrolled in a family-based weight management program. Methods: Forty-one preschool-aged children who were obese (BMI. 95th percentile) and enrolled in a weight management program completed pre- and posttreatment assessments of body mass, caloric intake, and sleep. Separate linear regression analyses examined the relationship between nocturnal sleep duration and posttreatment body mass index relative to age- and sex-linked norms (BMIz) and caloric intake. Results: After controlling for pretreatment BMIz, longer posttreatment nocturnal sleep was significantly associated with lower posttreatment BMIz (β=-0.21, p=0.02) and explained a significant proportion of unique variance in posttreatment BMIz (ΔR 2=0.04). Similarly, after controlling for pretreatment caloric intake, longer nocturnal sleep duration at posttreatment was significantly associated with lower caloric intake at posttreatment (β=-0.45, p=0.003) and explained a significant proportion of unique variance in posttreatment caloric intake (ΔR 2=0.19). Conclusions: These findings extend the literature on the sleep and weight relationship and suggest that adequate sleep may be an important element in interventions for preschoolers with obesity.