Sleep Problems and Their Association With Overweight or Obesity in Children and Adolescents

Abstract

Sleep is an important physiological process and is important for physical health, such as weight control and metabolic functioning. The lack of sleep among children and adolescents is a trend not only in Korea but also around the world and has a negative impact on adolescents’ physical and emotional health and weight control. Short sleep time or irregular sleep can cause changes in appetite-regulating hormones and insulin and associated with overweight/obesity. Sleep problems affect the reward-related neural system, which negatively affects eating control and mood regulation. Children and adolescents who sleep less often have less physical activity and spend more time lying down, which reduces energy expenditure and increases the likelihood of obesity. So, there is a need to educate young people about the importance of getting sufficient sleep and we need to create and implement policies to support this. This paper reviewed the effects of lack of sleep, sleep irregularity, and sleep problems on overweight/obesity in children and adolescents.