Poor Diet, Obesity and More Screen Time Linked With Insufficient Sleep in Children

Summary: Researchers report insufficient sleep is associated with unhealthy eating patterns, an increased risk of obesity and more screen time in school aged children.

Source: AASM.

A new study conducted among more than 177,000 students suggests that insufficient sleep duration is associated with an unhealthy lifestyle profile among children and adolescents.

Results show that insufficient sleep duration was associated with unhealthy dietary habits such as skipping breakfast (adjusted odds ratio 1.30), fast-food consumption (OR 1.35) and consuming sweets regularly (OR 1.32). Insufficient sleep duration also was associated with increased screen time (OR 1.26) and being overweight/obese (OR 1.21).

“Approximately 40 percent of schoolchildren in the study slept less than recommended,” said senior author Labros Sidossis, PhD, distinguished professor and chair of the Department of Kinesiology and Health at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. “Insufficient sleeping levels were associated with poor dietary habits, increased screen time and obesity in both genders.”

The study results are published in the Oct. 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that children 6 to 12 years of age should sleep nine to 12 hours on a regular basis to promote optimal health. Teenagers 13 to 18 years of age should sleep eight to 10 hours.

Population data were derived from a school-based health survey completed in Greece by 177,091 children (51 percent male) between the ages of 8 and 17 years. Dietary habits, usual weekday and weekend sleeping hours, physical activity status, and sedentary activities were assessed through electronic questionnaires completed at school. Children who reported that they usually sleep fewer than nine hours per day, and adolescents sleeping fewer than eight hours per day, were classified as having insufficient sleep. Anthropometric and physical fitness measurements were obtained by physical education teachers.

A greater proportion of males than females (42.3 percent versus 37.3 percent) and of children compared with adolescents (42.1 percent versus 32.8 percent) reported insufficient sleep duration. Adolescents with an insufficient sleep duration also had lower aerobic fitness and physical activity.

a sleeping child
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that children 6 to 12 years of age should sleep nine to 12 hours on a regular basis to promote optimal health. Teenagers 13 to 18 years of age should sleep eight to 10 hours. NeuroscienceNews.com image is in the public domain.

“The most surprising finding was that aerobic fitness was associated with sleep habits,” said Sidossis. “In other words, better sleep habits were associated with better levels of aerobic fitness. We can speculate that adequate sleep results in higher energy levels during the day. Therefore, children who sleep well are maybe more physically active during the day and hence have higher aerobic capacity.”

The authors noted that the results support the development of interventions to help students improve sleep duration.

“Insufficient sleep duration among children constitutes an understated health problem in Westernized societies,” Sidossis said. “Taking into consideration these epidemiologic findings, parents, teachers and health professionals should promote strategies emphasizing healthy sleeping patterns for school-aged children in terms of quality and duration.”

About this neuroscience research article

Funding: The study was supported by the Hellenic Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, Secretariat General of Sports, Greek Organisation of Football Prognostics S.A. (OPAP), Nestlé Hellas S.A., and the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics Graduate Program at Harokopio University of Athens.

Source: Corinne Lederhouse – AASM
Publisher: Organized by NeuroscienceNews.com.
Image Source: NeuroscienceNews.com image is in the public domain.
Original Research: Open access research for “Insufficient Sleep Duration Is Associated With Dietary Habits, Screen Time, and Obesity in Children” by Konstantinos D. Tambalis, PhD; Demosthenes B. Panagiotakos, PhD; Glyceria Psarra, PhD; and Labros S. Sidossis, PhD in Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. Published November 9 2018.
doi:10.5664/jcsm.7374

Cite This NeuroscienceNews.com Article

[cbtabs][cbtab title=”MLA”]AASM”Poor Diet, Obesity and More Screen Time Linked With Insufficient Sleep in Children.” NeuroscienceNews. NeuroscienceNews, 12 November 2018.
<https://neurosciencenews.com/child-sleep-obesity-10184/>.[/cbtab][cbtab title=”APA”]AASM(2018, November 12). Poor Diet, Obesity and More Screen Time Linked With Insufficient Sleep in Children. NeuroscienceNews. Retrieved November 12, 2018 from https://neurosciencenews.com/child-sleep-obesity-10184/[/cbtab][cbtab title=”Chicago”]AASM”Poor Diet, Obesity and More Screen Time Linked With Insufficient Sleep in Children.” https://neurosciencenews.com/child-sleep-obesity-10184/ (accessed November 12, 2018).[/cbtab][/cbtabs]


Abstract

Insufficient Sleep Duration Is Associated With Dietary Habits, Screen Time, and Obesity in Children

Study Objectives
To examine sleep duration and the association between insufficient sleep duration and life- style factors in a representative sample of Greek children and adolescents.

Methods
Population data derived from a school-based health survey carried out in spring 2015 on 177,091 children (51% male) aged 8 to 17 years (participation rate was approximately 40% of the total population). Dietary habits, sleeping hours (weekdays and weekend), physical activity status, and sedentary activities were assessed through electronic questionnaires completed at school with assistance of teachers. Anthropometric and physical fitness measurements were obtained by physical education teachers.

Results
A greater proportion of males than females (42.3% versus 37.3%, P < .001) and of children compared with adolescents (42.1% versus 32.8%, P < .001) reported insufficient sleep duration. Insufficient sleep duration was associated with unhealthy dietary habits such as skipping breakfast (odds ratio [OR] 1.30, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.25–1.35), fast-food consumption (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.29–1.41), and consuming sweets regularly (OR 1.32, 95% CI 1.25–1.39). Insufficient sleep duration was found to be associated with insufficient dietary habits (OR 0.59, 95% CI 0.54–0.64), increased screen time (OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.21–1.31), and being overweight/obese (OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.17–1.25), after adjusting for several covariates.

Conclusions
Insufficient sleep duration was associated with an unhealthy lifestyle profile among children and adolescents in this study. Results support the development of interventions to help students improve sleep duration.

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