Sleep duration and obesity in children and adolescents: evidence from an updated and dose-response meta-analysis.

Abstract Background and objectives The association between sleep duration and obesity in children and adolescents has been widely evaluated, whereas the current findings are mixed and prospective studies are limited. To shed more light on this issue and explore the dose–response relationship, we performed the present updated meta-analysis by synthesizing the results of prospective cohorts. Methods Literature retrieval, study selection and data extraction were completed independently and in duplicate. Effect-size estimates are expressed as relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) or standardized regression coefficient (β) with standard error. Results Data from 33 articles, involving 57,848 children and adolescents, were meta-analyzed. Overall analyses revealed statistically significant associations of short (adjusted RR = 1.57, 95% CI: 1.36 to 1.81, P  Conclusions Our findings indicate that short sleep duration can increase the risk of obesity in children and adolescents, especially within 3–13 years of age, and long sleep duration seemed beneficial in preventing obesity.