Sleep Duration and Consumption of Dietary Carbohydrate-rich Food in Relation to Obesity according to Menopausal Status in Korean Women

We previously reported that women with short sleep (≤6 hours/day) duration consumed higher levels of dietary carbohydrate and showed increased odds of being obese compared with men. However, the cause of these differences was not clear. Using a cross-sectional study of 17,841 Korean women over the age of 19 years, we studied the influence of sleep duration on obesity-related variables and consumption of dietary carbohydrate-rich food in relation to menopausal status. Only premenopausal women with short sleep duration had significantly higher body weight (P=0.008), body mass index (P=0.001), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (P=0.029 and P=0.028, respectively), prevalence of obesity (P<0.015) and consumption of more carbohydrate-rich foods such as staple foods (P=0.020) and simple sugar-rich foods than those with adequate sleep (≥7 hours/day) after adjustment for age, smoking, alcohol drinking, and physical activity. Also, premenopausal women with short sleep duration were significantly more obese by g...