Race, Sleep & Obesity

A study that was presented this week at SLEEP 2009 in Seattle, Wash., examined the link between race, sleep and obesity.

The study involved 29,818 U.S. adults. The data came from the 2005 National Health Interview Survey. Information was collected during face-to-face interviews.

Results show that 52 percent of blacks and 38 percent of whites were obese. Only 23 percent of blacks and 30 percent of whites reported sleeping seven hours per night. Blacks also were more likely than whites to have a “short sleep” duration of five hours or less per night.

So was there a connection between race, sleep and obesity?

Statistical analysis showed that blacks had a 78 percent increased risk of obesity related to short sleep; the risk of obesity related to short sleep in whites was increased by 43 percent.

“Both black and white Americans who were obese tended to have short sleep duration,” study author Girardin Jean-Louis, PhD, told the AASM.

Learn more about sleep and weight on SleepEducation.com.