Abstract:
Our aim was to investigate the association between sleeping hours at night and
during the siesta and the incidence of obesity in a Mediterranean cohort. After a
median of 6.5 years of follow-up, we included 10,532 or 9,470 participants without chronic
disease or obesity at baseline for analyzing the association between the incidence of obesity
and nocturnal sleep duration or having siesta. Sleeping hours and siesta were assessed at
baseline. Weight was recorded at baseline and every 2 years during the follow-up. The outcome
was the incidence of obesity during follow-up among participants with initial BMI <30
kg/m 2. Our results suggest that
short nocturnal sleep duration could be a modifiable risk factor for obesity. It is possible that
this association may be stronger among men and subjects who experienced previous weight
gain. Additionally, siesta might be a novel and independent protective factor for obesity; however,
confirmatory studies are needed.