Sugary beverage consumption mediates the relationship between late chronotype, sleep duration, and weight increase among undergraduates: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: The study aimed to explore whether sugary beverage consumption is a key mediator of late chronotype, sleep duration, and weight increase in college students in China. METHODS: The cross-sectional study was conducted in four universities using a sample of 800 undergraduate students recruited by cluster sampling. A self-reported questionnaire was given out to collect information, including the characteristic of social demography, state of physical exercise and sugary beverage intake, the types of chronotype, and psychological conditions. Then, two structural equation models (SEMs) were constructed to test the mediating effect of sugary beverage consumption. RESULTS: The significant indirect effect of sugary beverage consumption was found between chronotype and BMI (effect = − 0.03, SE = 0.01, 95% CI [− 0.05, − 0.02]) and between sleep duration and BMI (effect = − 0.12, SE = 0.05, 95% CI [− 0.16, − 0.09]). In addition, physical exercise and psychological condition also play mediating effects between chronotype and BMI (effect = − 0.04, SE = 0.01, 95% CI [− 0.06, − 0.01] and effect = − 0.03, SE = 0.02, 95% CI [− 0.05, − 0.01]), but their mediating effect was not found between sleep duration and BMI. CONCLUSION: Preventive measures should be taken to decrease student’s sugary beverage consumption, improve physical exercise, and increase individual well-being to avoid the harmful effects of eveningness. Moreover, the issue of short sleep duration among college students may be further investigated in future research.