RT Journal
A1 Bell JF, Zimmerman FJ
T1 SHortened nighttime sleep duration in early life and subsequent childhood obesity
JF Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
JO Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
YR 2010
FD September 1
VO 164
IS 9
SP 840
OP 845
DO 10.1001/archpediatrics.2010.143
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpediatrics.2010.143
AB Objective 
    To test associations between daytime and nighttime sleep duration and subsequent obesity in children and adolescents.Design 
    Prospective cohort.Setting 
    Panel Survey of Income Dynamics Child Development Supplements (1997 and 2002) from US children.Participants 
    Subjects aged 0 to 13 years (n = 1930) at baseline (1997).Main Exposures 
    Binary indicators of short daytime and nighttime sleep duration (<25th percentile of age-normalized sleep scores) at baseline.Main Outcome Measures 
    Body mass index at follow-up (2002) was converted to age- and sex-specific z scores and trichotomized (normal weight, overweight, obese) using established cut points. Ordered logistic regression was used to model body mass index classification as a function of short daytime and nighttime sleep at baseline and follow-up, and important covariates included socioeconomic status, parents' body mass index, and, for children older than 4 years, body mass index at baseline.Results 
    For younger children (aged 0-4 years at baseline), short duration of nighttime sleep at baseline was strongly associated with increased risk of subsequent overweight or obesity (odds ratio = 1.80; 95% confidence interval, 1.16-2.80). For older children (aged 5-13 years), baseline sleep was not associated with subsequent weight status; however, contemporaneous sleep was inversely associated. Daytime sleep had little effect on subsequent obesity in either group.Conclusions 
    Shortened sleep duration in early life is a modifiable risk factor with important implications for obesity prevention and treatment. Insufficient nighttime sleep among infants and preschool-aged children may be a lasting risk factor for subsequent obesity. Napping does not appear to be a substitute for nighttime sleep in terms of obesity prevention.