Relationship between sleep and body mass index (BMI) among college students

Over the past two decades obesity rates have reached epidemic proportions with the prevalence of obesity tripling in children and doubling in adults. At the same time, the prevalence of sleep deprivation has also increased. Though genetic contributions to obesity are significant, environmental factors play an important role as well. Much of the research on obesity has focused on lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise, but there is a dearth of research on another possibly vital lifestyle variable that may also impact obesity: sleep. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the number of hours slept and body mass index (BMI) among college students. The sample consists of 207 students enrolled in a general education health class at a large southeastern university during the fall 2007 semester. The participants self-reported their height, weight and number of hours they usually sleep. Then, BMI was calculated using the formula: weight (lb) / [height (in)] 2 x 703. Examination of the results showed that students who reported to sleep less also reported greater BMIs (p<.05). For example, students who usually slept 5 hours or less include: 42.8% of morbidly obese students and 50.1% of obese students compared to 39.2% of recommended weight students and 0 % of underweight students. Implications for future research will be discussed.