Children suffering from sleep problems at the age of 2 to 4 years are at an increased risk of being overweight as they grow up. Shorter sleep duration in adults have been associated with an increased risk of obesity and death, in the past. But there have been very few studies conducted on the long-term effect of sleep problems in childhood on the later development of obesity. To investigate the possible association between sleeping problems in childhood and obesity later in life, researchers at the University of Queensland, Brisbane studied 2,494 individuals born between 1981 and 1983. The results showed that an increasing frequency of sleeping problems at ages 2 to 4 years was associated with increasing body weight at age 21 years. It was found that sleeping problems in early life increased the odds of being obese in young adulthood by 90 percent. The likelihood of being overweight at the age of 21 years increased with increasing frequency of sleep problems experienced at the age of 2 to 4 years. These associations were independent of potentially confounding factors and persisted after the researchers adjusted for things like adolescent dietary patterns, family meals, and adolescent TV viewing time. Thus, to avoid any such problems it is very important for children to regulate their sleeping patterns and habits.
American Journal of Epidemiology,
December 2007