Association Between Sleep Quality and Overweight/Obesity Among Secondary School Adolescents in Yenagoa Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of overweight/obesity has increased globally, and poor sleep in adolescents has been associated with it.

Objective: To evaluate the association between sleep quality and overweight/obesity among secondary school students.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 890 adolescents aged 10-19 years in 20 public and private secondary schools selected by multistage sampling. Data collection was by questionnaires containing items from the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Weight/height were taken using standard protocols; BMI was obtained and compared with BMI z-scores.

Results: The significant associations found between sleep and overweight/obesity were: late bedtime/ early waketime (p =0.005 and 0.044, respectively) and short sleep duration of ≤7 hours (p =0.028). There was no relationship between overall sleep quality and overweight/obesity among all adolescents, by gender and in different age categories. Also, other sleep dimensions were not associated with overweight/obesity.

Conclusion: Poor sleep duration and sleep timing were associated with overweight/obesity in the study; hence, sleep education is recommended to aid in the reduction of obesity and ultimately improve adolescent health.