Abstract

The prevalence's of overweight and obesity have grown to epidemic proportions in Saudi Arabia the past few years, epidemiological studies have suggested that sleeping for less than seven hours/day is associated with increased morbidity in terms of the development of obesity. The aim of this study was to examine the association between sleep quality and different measures of obesity (body mass index, waist circumference and body fat percentage) and some lifestyle habits among female university students. A cross-sectional study targeted a convenience sample of 233 undergraduate female students at King Faisal University (KFU) in AL-Hasa, Saudi Arabia. The results indicated that poor sleep quality was common in students (54%) with mean total sleeping hours of five hours/day. Poor sleep quality was associated with overweight/obese (OR 4.210, P=0.000), at risk waist circumference (OR 2.005, P=0.009), moderate/high body fat percentage (OR 1.058, P=0.025), low physical active (OR 2.045, P=0.037), and skipping breakfast (OR 2.710, P=0.003). In conclusion, the present study highlights the prevalence of poor sleep quality among female university students in Saudi Arabia, and they support previously published studies indicating that poor sleep quality was associ­ated with different measures of obesity and some of lifestyle habits. Sleep quality is an untraditional approach that might be used to prevent or treat overweight and obesity.

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