Relationship between sleep and obesity among Saudi Arabian adults

Abstract

Obesity is considered the biggest public health challenge in the 21century, there has been an increase in the prevalence of obesity on a global level in the last few decades and the world health organization (WHO) has recognize it as a global epidemic. Obesity is defined as the “accumulation of adipose tissue to excess and to an extent that impairs both physical and psychosocial health and well-being” (Ofei,2005). It has been linked with multiple health problems and co-morbidities including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer (Fock and Khoo, 2013). Obesity in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is rising at a distressing rate and by 2022 it is predicted to hit 41% for males and up to 78% for females (Harakesh et al,2020). Due to the multifactorial nature of obesity there has been a rising interest of different factors that might contribute to it, a recent study has suggested that variations in sleep duration are linked to various diseases, ranging from hypertension and diabetes mellitus to weight gain and obesity (Kim, 2017). One method to measure the sleep quality is the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), developed by Buysse et al (1989), it is a one-month assessment tool using self-administered questionnaire for assessing overall sleep quality (Smith et al, 2003), The relationship between sleep duration and obesity needs further studying. One meta-analysis done by (Cappuccio et al, 2008) concluded that there is a consistent increase in risk of obesity amongst children and adult who suffer from lack of sleep or short sleep duration. Short sleep was suspected to induce obesity by inducing hormonal responses, contributing to increased appetite and calorie intake, it is also correlated with reciprocal Leptin and Ghrelin shifts that would raise appetite and further grow obesity (Cappuccio et al,2008). Short sleep can activat the inflammatory pathways that can also contribute to obesity (Cappuccio et al,2008). This proposal aims to assess the prevalence of short sleep duration and its association with obesity among Saudi adults, we wish that this will lead to better understanding of obesity and could be a targeted intervention point in the future