Sleep duration and anthropometric indices in an Iranian population: the Fasa PERSIAN cohort study

Recent decades have seen a dramatic rise in the prevalence of obesity. While genetic factors can influence obesity, environmental factors and lifestyle may play important roles as well. Sleep can be regarded as one of these factors. This study aimed to examine sleep duration, as a potential risk factor for obesity in an Iranian population. In this cross-sectional study, the Fasa PERSIAN cohort study data was used and 10,136 subjects aged 35–70 were entered. Anthropometrics indices have been measured and the total body fat percentage (BFP) was obtained by Bio-Impedance Analysis. Also, physical activity and dietary intake have been recorded. Sleep duration was obtained and individuals categorized into two groups of “< 8” and “≥ 8” h of sleep. The mean age and sleep duration of the participants were 48.63 ± 9.57 years and 6.92 ± 1.62 h in the total population, respectively. All of the anthropometric indices were significantly higher in the “< 8 h of sleep” group than in the “≥ 8 h of sleep” group. Regarding BFP and fat mass index (FMI) the same results was seen (p-value < 0.05). Body mass index (BMI), Waist and hip circumferences (WC, HC), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) were in a significant negative association with night time sleep (p-value < 0.001), while these associations with daytime napping were positive (p-value < 0.001). After multi-variable adjusting, BMI, WC, HC, WHtR, and wrist circumference showed significant negative associations with 24-h sleep duration (p-value < 0.05). This study established the association between nocturnal, daytime napping, 24-h sleep duration and obesity parameters. Daytime napping was positively associated with obesity parameters and short 24-h sleep duration was associated with higher risk of overweight/obesity. These results indicate that insufficient sleep can be a screening indicator for an unhealthy lifestyle and poor health outcomes.