Background: Epidemiological studies in adults and children have repeatedly reported an association between short sleep duration and the risk of obesity. Studies using both objective measurements of sleep and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in children aged three are, however, lacking.
Objective: The study aims to examine both the longitudinal and cross-sectional associations between sleep duration and adiposity indicators in children aged 3 and younger.
Methods: On a cohort of 311 infants born at term, we used parent-reported sleep duration at 9 months, 18 months and 3 years of age, and accelerometer estimated nocturnal sleep duration at 3 years of age. Sleep duration at 9 and 18 months were used to predict adiposity at 3 years of age.
Results: We found no associations between any of the adiposity indicators at 3 years of age and (i) parent-reported total sleep duration at 9 months, 18 months and 3 years, and (2) nocturnal sleep duration measured with accelerometry at 3 years of age. Multivariate adjustments were used in both approaches.
Conclusion: Our results do not support the hypothesis that short sleep duration is associated with increased adiposity in this cohort of young Danish children.
© 2012 The Authors. Pediatric Obesity © 2012 International Association for the Study of Obesity.