Peer-reviewed article
Sleep problems and underweight among adolescent girls and adult women aged 12-49 years: A cross-sectional, web-based survey in Japan.
Kayaba M, Ogata H, Yumen Y, Takayama Y, Kiyono K et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This peer-reviewed study examined the relationship between being underweight and sleep problems among adolescent girls and adult women in Japan using a web-based survey. The researchers found that underweight was associated with insomnia symptoms only among women in their 20s, not in adolescent girls or other age groups. The study suggests that sleep assessment may be relevant when addressing underweight, though the findings are limited by reliance on self-reported measures rather than validated sleep assessments.
Key points
- 14.7% of adolescent girls and 23.5% of adult women were underweight
- No association between underweight and sleep problems in adolescent girls
- Underweight associated with self-reported insomnia only in women aged 20-29
- Association between underweight and insomnia weakened with increasing age
- Underweight was not associated with sleep debt-related patterns or daytime sleepiness in any group
Limitations
The study relies on self-reported measures of both weight and sleep outcomes rather than objective assessments, and the cross-sectional design cannot establish causality. The web-based survey methodology may introduce sampling bias and does not clarify the temporal relationship between underweight and sleep problems.
Abstract
Objectives Underweight is a common health concern among individuals of reproductive age. Although sleep and metabolic regulation share neuroendocrine pathways, the relationship between underweight and sleep problems remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the associations between underweight and questionnaire-based sleep-related outcomes among adolescent girls and adult women. Methods These cross-sectional, web-based surveys were conducted from November to December 2023 among adolescent girls (aged 12-18 years) and adult women aged 18 to 49 years. Valid responses were obtained from 996 adolescent girls and 4689 adult women. Logistic regression analyses were conducted within age-defined subgroups to examine associations between weight categories and sleep-related outcomes, including a sleep debt-related pattern with daytime sleepiness and self-reported insomnia symptoms, adjusting for sociodemographic and lifestyle factors. Results Among respondents, 14.7% of adolescent girls and 23.5% of adult women were underweight. Underweight was not associated with either of the sleep-related outcomes among adolescent girls. In adult women, underweight was associated with self-reported insomnia symptoms in women in their 20s, with no associations observed in other age groups. An interaction between age and underweight was observed, suggesting that this association weakened with increasing age. Conclusions Underweight was associated with self-reported insomnia symptoms, but not with a sleep debt-related pattern with daytime sleepiness, among adult women in their 20s. These findings suggest that sleep assessment may be considered as part of comprehensive strategies addressing underweight, although further studies using validated sleep measures are needed.