Childhood sleep and obesity risk: A prospective cohort study of 10 000 Swedish children
Authors' conclusion
The child's BMI Z-score increases by 0.09 units with every hour shorter sleep duration, indicating that short sleep duration might increase the risk of overweight and obesity in children. Parental educational interventions advising appropriate sleeping patterns should be considered when implementing strategies to combat the development of childhood obesity.
Study context
- Population
- One-year-old children in the ABIS-study (All Babies in Southeast Sweden), followed up until 8 years of age
- Participants
- 10.840 children
- Outcome
- BMI Z-scores in relation to sleep dimensions (bedtime, sleep duration, sleep quality, number of awakenings)
- Follow-up
- Until 8 years of age
Methodological detailslongitudinal mixed model analyses, parental-completed questionnaires
- Longitudinal mixed model analyses
- Parental-completed questionnaires
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Sleep duration early in life negatively associated with later BMI Z-scores (adjusted β, 95% CI (−0.15) - (−0.03), p = 0.005)
−0.09
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Later bedtime and sleep duration
- Later bedtime linked to shorter sleep duration (β, p < 0.0001)
- −0.544
- Greater number of awakenings and nocturnal feeds linked to shorter sleep duration
Factors for appropriate sleep habits at 1 year
- Parents born in Sweden, higher parental education, non-single parents, non-smoking mothers during pregnancy and fewer siblings more likely to have appropriate sleep habits
Other determinants of BMI Z-scores
- Higher birth weight, SGA, unhealthy food habits, maternal smoking during pregnancy and higher parental BMI resulted in higher BMI Z-scores
Original publication
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