Effects of Early Wake-Up Time on Obesity in Adolescents

Background: Although numerous studies have reported that obesity in adolescents is related to shorter sleep duration, few studies have reported the effect of sleep timing, particularly early wake-up time, on obesity. Objectives: To investigate the association between wake-up time and adolescent obesity. Methods: Using the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey VII data, 1301 middle school and high school students were selected and grouped according to BMI. Sleep timing and lifestyle factors were evaluated using self-reported questionnaires. Results: The mean bedtime and wake-up time were 00:09 am and 07:06 am, respectively. Despite similar bedtimes, the group with overweight/obesity woke up earlier than the group with underweight/normal weight. The BMI z-score and the overweight/obesity relative risk decreased as the wake-up time was delayed, even after adjustment for covariates. Participants who woke up before 06:50 am had a 1.82-fold higher risk of having overweight/obesity than those who woke up after 07:30 am. Participants who woke up late tended to sleep longer than those who woke up early. Conclusions: Waking up early is significantly associated with an increased BMI z-score in adolescents and may be a risk factor for overweight/obesity.