Effects of Body Fat on Sleep
Mentor 1
Krista Lisdahl
Location
Union Wisconsin Room
Start Date
5-4-2019 1:30 PM
End Date
5-4-2019 3:30 PM
Description
Background: Obesity, an excessive amount of body fat, affects 36% of young adults and 21% of adolescents in the United States. Previous research has shown a relationship between body fat percentage and poor sleep quality in adults, however little is known on the impact of body fat percentage on sleep in young adults and adolescents. The current study predicted that higher total fat would be associated with poorer sleep quality. Participants with higher visceral fat (VF), will report worse sleep quality compared to participants with higher subcutaneous fat (SCF).
Methods: Seventy-four participants (62% males and 68% Caucasian), ages 16-26, participated in the study. After three weeks of abstinence, participants were administered a neuropsychological battery, including a sleep quality measure, and an abdominal MRI to determine SCF and VF levels. Linear model was run to determine how SCF and VF percentiles impacted sleep quality, while controlling for past year alcohol use.
Results: Results indicate that total fat was not significantly associated with poorer sleep quality. Participants with higher VF did not significantly report worse sleep quality than participants with higher SCF.
Conclusion: In contrast to our hypotheses, increased total fat percentage was not significantly associated with poorer sleep quality. Also, participants with higher VF did not differ on reported sleep quality compared to participants with higher SCF. Our results suggest there may be underlying factors affecting sleep that were not explored. Research demonstrated that higher fat ratios distributed from the neck to abdomen were significantly related to obstructive sleep apnea. Therefore, could be contributing to poorer sleep quality. This could mean that high levels of fat distribution, although not a primary contributor in sleep quality, may be involved in disordered sleep.
Effects of Body Fat on Sleep
Union Wisconsin Room
Background: Obesity, an excessive amount of body fat, affects 36% of young adults and 21% of adolescents in the United States. Previous research has shown a relationship between body fat percentage and poor sleep quality in adults, however little is known on the impact of body fat percentage on sleep in young adults and adolescents. The current study predicted that higher total fat would be associated with poorer sleep quality. Participants with higher visceral fat (VF), will report worse sleep quality compared to participants with higher subcutaneous fat (SCF).
Methods: Seventy-four participants (62% males and 68% Caucasian), ages 16-26, participated in the study. After three weeks of abstinence, participants were administered a neuropsychological battery, including a sleep quality measure, and an abdominal MRI to determine SCF and VF levels. Linear model was run to determine how SCF and VF percentiles impacted sleep quality, while controlling for past year alcohol use.
Results: Results indicate that total fat was not significantly associated with poorer sleep quality. Participants with higher VF did not significantly report worse sleep quality than participants with higher SCF.
Conclusion: In contrast to our hypotheses, increased total fat percentage was not significantly associated with poorer sleep quality. Also, participants with higher VF did not differ on reported sleep quality compared to participants with higher SCF. Our results suggest there may be underlying factors affecting sleep that were not explored. Research demonstrated that higher fat ratios distributed from the neck to abdomen were significantly related to obstructive sleep apnea. Therefore, could be contributing to poorer sleep quality. This could mean that high levels of fat distribution, although not a primary contributor in sleep quality, may be involved in disordered sleep.
