Grant: Operating Grant

One in four Canadian children is overweight or obese. Over the past 25 years, the level of overweight and obesity has doubled. This is worrying because it has long term health consequences. Childhood obesity increases risk for many diseases such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes. While obesity levels have been rising, the amount of time children spend sleeping has been decreasing. There is convincing evidence showing that children who sleep less have a larger body size. However, the amount of timing spent sleeping might not tell the whole story. Having awakenings throughout the night or going to bed inconsistent with your internal clock may be more problematic. Researchers are still working to disentangle the pathways that link sleep and obesity. Some pathways include hormones dealing with appetite, the body's response to stress, and changes in metabolism and sensitivity to insulin. Most researchers look at these pathways singularly. Also, most studies use only self- (or parent-) reports of sleep times. This may not be the best way of capturing what happens during sleep. The goal of the current project is to consider different dimensions of sleep and how these pathways might link them to obesity. An in-depth measurement of sleep will be included to capture the subtle dimensions of sleep. The project will result in new information about why sleep may be linked to obesity. This information has potential to prevent and treat obesity.