Reduced sleep duration affects body composition, dietary intake and quality of life in obese subjects.

Purpose Sleep duration has emerged as a crucial factor affecting body weight and feeding behaviour. The aim of our study was to explore the relationship among sleep duration, body composition, dietary intake, and quality of life (QoL) in obese subjects. Methods Body composition was assessed by DXA. ‘‘Sensewear Armband’’ was used to evaluate sleep duration. SF-36 questionnaire was used to evaluate quality of life (QoL). A 3-day dietary record was administered. Subjects were divided into 2 groups: sleep duration[and B300 min/day. Results 137 subjects (105 women and 32 men), age: 49.8 ± 12.4 years, BMI: 38.6 ± 6.7 kg/m2, were enrolled. Sleep duration was B300 min in 30.6 % of subjects. Absolute and relative fat mass (FM) (40.5 ± 9 vs. 36.5 ± 9.1 kg; 40.2 ± 4.7 vs. 36.9 ± 5.6 %), and truncal fat mass (19.2 ± 6.1 vs. 16.6 ± 5 kg; 38.6 ± 5.3 vs. 35.2 ± 5.5 %) were higher in subjects sleeping B300 min when compared to their counterparts (all p.05), whereas just a tendency towards a higher BMI was observed (p = 0.077). Even though energy intake was not different between groups, subjects sleeping B300 min reported a higher carbohydrate consumption per day (51.8 ± 5.1 vs. 48.4 ± 9.2 %, p = 0.038). SF-36 total score was lower in subjects sleeping B300 min (34.2 ± 17.8 vs. 41.4 ± 12.9, p = 0.025). Sleep duration was negatively associated with FM (r = -0.25, p = 0.01) and SF-36 total score (r = -0.31, p.001). The inverse association between sleep duration and SF-36 total score was confirmed by the regression analysis after adjustment for BMI and fat mass (R = 0.43, R2 = 0.19, p = 0.012). Conclusion Reduced sleep duration negatively influences body composition, macronutrient intake, and QoL in obese subjects.