By now, it is common knowledge that the quality of food we put into our body plays a major role in determining our weight. However, not much is known about how sleep quality affects weight. Researcher Lundy and her colleagues wanted to develop a better understanding of how the quality of sleep and diet contribute to Freshman university students’ weight gain. The researchers hypothesized that there is a negative correlation between weight and sleep. The less sleep a student receives, the more weight they will gain.
In order to study the effect that sleep has on weight gain, researchers conducted a longitudinal study consisting of 60 first-year university students living on campus at a Midwestern university. Participants were weighed in a lab twice a week for 4 and a half months to track changes in weight. They were also instructed to complete weekly surveys pertaining to sleep and diet patterns. Once the study was completed, the researchers analyzed the results. They grouped students into 3 weight- change categories: maintainers (little to no weight gain), modest gainers (slight weight gain), and major gainers (significantly large weight gain), and analyzed the similarities and differences in sleep and diet patterns between groups.
The results of the study supported the hypothesis, as there was a significant negative relationship found between duration of sleep and weight gain. Research like this is important because it allows us to identify more factors that can affect health, allowing individuals to be more aware of ways to improve their physical well-being. By supporting the hypothesis, this research has important implications for health-promotion as well as future research, focusing more specifically on how sleep plays a role in weight gain.
Source:
Leone, R., Ludy, M.J., Morgan, A., Tan, S.Y., and Tucker, R. (2018). Weight gain in first-semester university students: Positive sleep and diet practices associated with protective effects. Physiology & Behavior 194:1, 132-136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2018.05.009
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