Erratic sleep patterns of college students may be a risk factor for obesity
College students who sleep fewer than seven hours a night have a higher body mass index, or BMI, than those who sleep more hours, according to a research project conducted by the Department of Nutritional Sciences at Rutgers University.
Previous studies have looked at the relationship between hours of sleep per night and BMI, according to the Rutgers nutrition specialists who conducted the study. “What makes this study unique is that it looks at this relationship in college students,” said Daniel Hoffman, chair of the Department of Nutritional Sciences.
BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight that applies to adult men and women. It can be affected by a number of factors, sleep being one of them.
College students are well known for what nutrition specialist Peggy Policastro calls an “erratic sleep schedule,” sleeping little during the week and compensating for it on the weekend. “We thought these patterns might have a significant effect upon weight,” Policastro said.
To involve students in their research, Policastro and Hoffman teamed up with the Rutgers’ Aresty Research Center, a program that promotes undergraduate research and engagement with faculty. For a month, a team of 25 undergraduate nutrition majors were dispersed to campus gathering spots, such as campus centers, gyms, and dining halls. The student-researchers recorded the height and weight of about 800 students and used questionnaires to survey them on their sleep patterns and average hours of sleep each night.
An analysis showed that less sleep resulted in a higher BMI. The researchers looked at results for those who slept below or above seven hours - which, according to the National Sleep Foundation, is considered the median sleep duration.
The results support the idea that poor sleep habits may be a risk factor for obesity. “Most likely, this association exists as a result of a disruption in stress hormones, such as cortisol, that promotes overeating or fat gain,” Hoffman says. There may other reasons as well: late night studying and socializing may promote cravings for sweets, starch and salty snacks, leading to weight gain and a higher BMI.
Maryrose Agel, a senior nutrition major and an author on the project took part in the project’s poster presentation at the National Food Nutrition Conference and Exposition in Boston this past November. After graduation, Agel hopes to get an internship to further her studies and then become a registered dietician.
Policastro, Hoffman, and Agel’s next project together will be comparing the effect of eating breakfast on BMI in college students.