Caffeine and screen time in adolescence: associations with short sleep and obesity.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the associations between sleep duration and obesity incidence and risk factors among pre-adolescents and adolescents.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study of a community based cohort

SETTING

The Tucson Children's Assessment of Sleep Apnea follow-up study (TuCASA) cohort.

PARTICIPANTS

319 Caucasian and Hispanics between 10-17 years.

MAIN OUTCOME

Parent-reported sleep duration and BMI z-score.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Surveys of electronic screen time, dietary and caffeine intake, exercise and sleep habits by parents, and anthropometric measures.

RESULTS

Parent-reported total sleep time (TST) was inversely associated with BMI z-score, but not significantly correlated with any of the examined nutritional variables or exercise components. Hispanic ethnicity was associated with significantly lower parent-reported TST and higher BMI z-score. Parent-reported TST was inversely related to electronic screen time and caffeine use, but these findings were differentially related to age. Caffeine consumption was associated with decreasing parent-reported TST primarily in older adolescents. Electronic screen time was associated with lower parent-reported TST in younger adolescents.

CONCLUSIONS

Hispanic ethnicity and parental reports of TST were found to be the most closely associated with BMI z-score. Decreased TST and increased caffeine intake and screen time may result in higher obesity risk in the adolescent population.