How Sleep Length Relates to Fat and Carbohydrate Eating in Teenagers

Adolescents who sleep less than 8 hours on weekdays consumed a higher proportion of calories from fats (35.9% vs 33.2%) and a lower proportion from carbohydrates (49.6% vs 53.3%).

• Shorter sleep duration is associated with an increase in daily calories consumed from fat by an average of 2.2 percentage points.
• Calories from carbohydrates decreased by an average of 3.0 percentage points with shorter sleep duration.
• Adolescents sleeping less than 8 hours had 2.1-fold increased odds of consuming 475 or more kcal from snacks.
• Quantitative measures of macronutrient intake correlate with objectively measured sleep duration in adolescents.
• Altered eating patterns due to short sleep duration may cumulatively influence energy balance and obesity risk.

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