"Is there an Association Between Self-Reported Sleep Duration, Body Mass Index and Waist-Hip Ratio in Young Adults? A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study".

Introduction: Sleep is vital for mental and physical health of an individual. Duration of sleep influences the metabolism and regulates body weight. Objective: To assess the cross-sectional association of sleep duration with body mass index (BMI) and waist-hip ratio in Malaysian students. Methods: Eighty-nine Malaysian students of both genders, and with a mean (standard deviation) age of 21.2 (0.9) years were included. Institutional Ethics Committee clearance was obtained prior to the start of study. The subjects were interviewed regarding the average hours of sleep/day, their selfreported sleep duration was categorized as 7hour/day. Their height (in meters), weight (in kilograms), waist and hip circumference (in centimetre) were measured. BMI and waist-hip ratio were calculated using appropriate formulas and expressed as mean (standard deviation). The duration of sleep was compared with BMI and waist-hip ratio using one way ANOVA. Results: No statistical significance was observed when sleep duration was associated with BMI (p=0.65) and waist-hip ratio (p=0.95). Duration of sleep did not affect BMI and waist hip ratio in the Malaysian students in our study. The age and healthy lifestyle of the subjects in this study may have been a reason for no significant influence of short sleep duration on the BMI and waist-hip ratio. Conclusion: No association was found between sleep duration with BMI and waist hip ratio in the Malaysian students.