This study was designed to examine the association between sleep duration and being overweight/obese in primary, middle, and high school students. This was a multiple cross-sectional study using data from the 2010 and 2014 National Survey on Students’ Constitution and Health (CNSSCH). A total of 23,602 students aged 7⁻18 years were enrolled in this study. The prevalence of being overweight and obese—stratified by age, gender, and sleep duration—in 2010 and 2014 were compared. Sleep duration was categorized as <7 h, ≥7 to 8 h, ≥8 to 9 h, and ≥9 h. Overweight and obesity were defined according to the cut-point criteria in China. Multivariable logistic regression results in 2010 and 2014 revealed that students sleeping <7 h and aged 7⁻12 years had an increased risk of becoming overweight/obese. In 2010, the adjusted prevalence ratios of overweight for 7⁻12-year-old students sleeping <9 h was 1.196 (95%CI: 1.004⁻1.424) and 13⁻15-year-old students sleeping <8 h was 1.265 (95%CI: 1.023⁻1.565). In 2014, the adjusted prevalence ratios of overweight and obesity for 7⁻12-year-old students sleeping <9 h were 1.295 (95%CI: 1.091⁻1.537) and 1.231 (95%CI: 1.045⁻1.449); 16⁻18-year-old students sleeping <7 h were 1.530 (95%CI: 1.239⁻1.888) and 1.585 (95%CI: 1.270⁻2.081). Our study revealed that different levels of sleep curtailment increased the risk of becoming overweight/obesity in different age groups of students.
Keywords: adolescent; children; obesity; overweight; sleep duration.