Objectives: Obesity is currently an epidemic in Korea, and sleep duration is thought to be one of the risk factors for obesity. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that short sleep duration is associated with obesity in Korean adults.
Methods: The data from the 2001 Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey were used, and 6,174 subjects aged 18 approximately 80 years were included in the analysis. Sleep duration was measured using information obtained from self-reported questionnaires. Obesity, the main outcome variable, was measured according to body mass index. Multiple regression modeling was used to adjust for potential confounding variables.
Results: The study results revealed a negative association between sleep duration and body mass index among Korean adults. These associations persisted after controlling for the potential confounding variables.
Conclusions: These findings support the hypothesis that sleep duration is associated with obesity in Korean adults. In addition, these observations support earlier experimental sleep studies and provide a basis for future studies on weight control intervention by increasing the amount of sleep.