Poster #40 - Family sleep and toddler obesity risk: A descriptive study

• In Event: Poster Session 08

Abstract

As child obesity rates have increased in recent decades, sleep has become an increasingly prevalent area of focus in obesity research. Shorter and dysregulated sleep have been identified as risk factors for elevated weight in children (Golley et al., 2013; Snell et al., 2007; Taveras et al., 2008); however, research on how these components present within the family context is limited. To address this knowledge gap, the current study provides a descriptive approach toward understanding family sleep and toddler weight status.
Caregiver-toddler dyads (n = 29) were recruited when toddlers were between 18 and 30 months, M(SD) = 22.46(3.65) months. Toddler weight and height measurements were used to calculate BMI-for-age percentiles according to WHO (age< 24 months) or CDC growth standards (age > 24 months). Toddlers at or above the 85th percentile were placed in the overweight/obese (OO) group; all other children were placed in the typical weight (TYP) group. Mother, father, and target toddler sleep estimates were generated via a sleep interview, sleep diary, and questionnaire. Additionally, toddler sleep was recorded via 24-hour actigraphy for 5 consecutive day-night cycles. Family demographics and work/life schedules were assessed via questionnaires and an interview. Both groups (TYP, OO) had comparable demographic characteristics including maternal education, child gender, and family income (all p > .10).
Toddlers in the TYP (n = 19) and OO (n = 10) groups presented with a wide range of bedtimes, morning rise times, and nighttime sleep durations but the overall patterns were not strikingly different (Figure 1). Similarly, mean 24-hour sleep durations were similar - TYP M(SD) = 12.51(1.03); OO M(SD) = 12.32(0.89) hours. Family sleep (Figure 2) followed several consistent patterns. On average, toddlers were asleep at least 1.5 hours before mothers and fathers in both groups. With only one exception, fathers went to sleep at the same time or later than mothers, but did not consistently differ in morning rise times (when compared to mothers). Parent work schedules were a driving factor for individual and family sleep with large circadian shifts (> 3 hours outside of the overall mean). Several toddlers in the TYP group woke an hour or more later than their parents. Toddlers within the OO group often woke with or shortly after their parents - this reflected low levels of flexibility in family work and childcare schedules.
Sleep within the family context often reflects elements of the individual, family, and larger contextual patterns (e.g., work, childcare). Interpreting bedtimes, morning rise times, and nighttime sleep durations outside of these contextual factors may errantly miss the driving factors - which in this study were parent work schedules and general schedule flexibility. Findings from this descriptive study indicate that flexibility in toddler sleep and parent work schedules warrant further exploration as predictors of child sleep and obesity risk.

Authors

• Amy Janis, Purdue University, West Lafayette
  Presenting Author

• Elizabeth Irene Kielb, Purdue University, West Lafayette

• Kameron Moding, Purdue University, West Lafayette

• AJ Schwichtenberg, Purdue University, West Lafayette