Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Childhood obesity is a major public concern that is associated with a number of health issues, including cardiovascular and metabolic dysfunctions. Shorter sleep duration has been linked to the development of obesity in cross-sectional and prospective studies, as well as through meta-analytic research, yet the underlying mechanisms between the two have yet to be identified. One possible mechanism is through heart rate variability (HRV), an indicator of autonomic nervous system functioning measured through non-invasive ECG recordings. The aim of the present study is to compare the links between obesity, sleep, and HRV in two large samples of Quebec children aged 10-12. The first is a population-based sample of children in Quebec, and the second is a cohort of youth at risk for developing obesity identified as having one biological parent who is obese. Each group completed detailed questionnaires asking about their sleep, and had anthropometric and physiological data measured by trained research assistants. Data analysis will be conducted to determine if there is a link between obesity and HRV across both groups, if this link is influenced by short total sleep time or disrupted circadian regularity, and whether the relation is stronger in the cohort at risk for obesity. The results will provide information to help scientists better understand the relation between sleep and obesity in youth.