Insufficient Sleep and Weight Status in High School Students: Should We Be Focusing on the Extremes?

Abstract

The relation between insufficient sleep and weight status among adolescent populations has yielded equivocal findings. This study investigated the relation between length of sleep and weight status by analyzing data from 9,321 high school students on the 2007 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Findings indicate that insufficient sleep was associated with higher odds of being categorized as obese in only the most extreme range (5 hr or less of sleep on an average night). Differences in the sleep–weight relation emerged when examined by gender and race/ethnicity. The implications of the results for prevention and intervention programs that address sleep and weight status among adolescents are considered.