Inadequate sleep among teens linked to overweight and obesity: Study

Study author Jesus Martínez Gómez, a researcher in training at the Cardiovascular Health and Imaging Laboratory, Spanish National Center for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC), Madrid, Spain, explained, “Our study shows that most adolescents do not get enough sleep and It is associated with excess weight and characteristics that promote weight gain, potentially predisposing them to future problems.”

“We are currently investigating whether poor sleep habits are related to excessive screen time, which may explain why older adolescents get less sleep than younger people.”

For the study, researchers examined the association between sleep duration and health in 1,229 adolescents and the average age was 12 years old with equal numbers of boys and girls at baseline.

Sleep was measured for seven days with a wearable activity tracker three times in each participant at 12, 14 and 16 years of age. The study used 8 hours or longer as optimal. Accordingly, participants were classified as very short sleepers (less than 7 hours), short sleepers (7 to 8 hours), and optimal (8 hours or more).

At age 12, only 34% of participants slept at least 8 hours a night, and this dropped to 23% and 19% at age 14 and 16, respectively. The teens who got the most sleep also got better quality sleep, meaning they were less awake during the night and spent more time sleeping in bed than those with less sleep.

The prevalence of overweight/obesity was 27%, 24% and 21% at 12, 14 and 16 years of age, respectively.

Compared with optimal sleepers, overweight/obesity were 21% and 72% more likely to occur in very short sleepers at age 12 and 14, respectively. Short sleepers were 19% and 29% more likely to be overweight/obese than optimal sleepers at 12 and 14 years, respectively. Similarly, both very short and short sleepers had higher average metabolic syndrome scores at 12 and 14 years than optimal sleepers.

Mr. Martínez Gomez said: “The associations between insufficient sleep and adverse health were independent of energy intake and physical activity level, indicating that sleep itself is important. Excess weight and metabolic syndrome are ultimately associated with cardiovascular diseases, suggesting that Giving that health promotion programs should teach good sleep habits to schools. Parents can set a good example by setting a consistent bedtime and limiting screen time in the evening. Public policies to tackle this global health problem can also be followed. the wanted.”