Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine the association between fewer hours of sleep and excess weight/obesity in first- to fourth-year nutrition students at Universidad de San Sebastian in Chile. A total of 635 students were evaluated, of whom 86.4% were women. The Pittsburg sleep survey was administered to each student along with an anthropometric evaluation, and the body mass index of each was calculated. A raw and adjusted analysis of logistic regression was performed. A total of 57.1% of students slept less than the recommended amount. Sleeping less was associated with excess weight or obesity in the model adjusted for age and daytime sleepiness (adjusted OR [aOR], 1.84; 95% CI, 1.26-2.68), and adjusted for age, smoking, dairy, fruit, and legume consumption; and daytime sleepiness (aOR, 1.83; 95% CI, 1.29-2.76). There is an association between fewer hours of sleep and higher body mass in this population; this should be considered in excess weight prevention.