Research paper
Patel SR, Hu FB. Short sleep duration and weight gain: a systematic review. Obesity. 2008;16(3):643-653. doi:10.1038/oby.2007.118
Why we cite it
A systematic review of the literature on sleep duration and weight to January 2007: 36 publications (31 cross-sectional, 5 prospective, none experimental). ”Findings in both cross-sectional and cohort studies of children suggested short sleep duration is strongly and consistently associated with concurrent and future obesity. Results from adult cross-sectional analyses were more mixed with 17 of 23 studies supporting an independent association”; all three longitudinal studies in adults found a positive association, and the relationship appeared to wane with age. In the largest child cohort, 8,274 Japanese children, the odds of obesity rose as sleep shortened: odds ratios of 1.49, 1.89 and 2.89 for 9–10, 8–9 and fewer than 8 hours, against 10 hours or more. In the largest, 68,183 women aged 45–65 in the Nurses’ Health Study followed for 16 years, weight gain was 1.14 kg greater among those sleeping 5 hours or less than among those sleeping 7, with a hazard ratio of 1.28 for a 15 kg weight gain. In the Zurich Cohort Study, short sleep was more strongly associated with obesity at the earlier time point than with concurrent or later obesity. The authors conclude that ”major study design limitations preclude definitive conclusions” and call for experimental designs that manipulate sleep ”to better define the causal relationship of sleep deprivation on obesity”.
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