Relationships between College Students’ Sedentary Behavior, Sleep Quality, and Body Mass Index

Abstract

Purpose: Sedentary behavior (SB), sleep efficiency (SE), sleep duration (SD), and body mass index (BMI) are crucial determinants of an individual’s health. However, empirical evidence regarding associations between these factors in young adults living in China remains unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between accelerometer-measured SB, SE, SD, and BMI in Chinese college students. Methods: Two-hundred and twenty college students (115 females, Meanage = 20.29 years, SD = 2.37) were recruited from a south-central Chinese university. Participants’ SB (daily % time spent in SB), SE (number of minutes of sleep duration/number of minutes in bed), and SD were assessed via wrist-worn ActiGraph GT9X Link accelerometers for one week. Body weight was measured using a digital weight scale, height was measured using a stadiometer, and BMI was calculated as weight (kg)/height (m2). Results: Participants’ average time spent in SB was 76.52% (SD = 10.03), SE was 84.12% (SD = 4.79), and BMI was 20.67 kg/m2 (SD = 3.12), respectively. Regression analyses indicated that SB (β = −0.17, p = 0.01) and BMI (β = −0.20, p < 0.01) negatively predicted SE. In addition, BMI negatively predicted SD (β = −0.22, p < 0.01). Conclusion: Prolonged SB (e.g., screen viewing, smartphone use, and computer playing) and higher BMI may link to shorter sleep duration and lower sleep efficiency in Chinese young adults. Future randomized controlled trials are needed to further confirm these findings. Given that increased BMI status and SB may relate to adverse health outcomes, more population-based intervention strategies seeking to lower BMI and reduce SB (e.g., nutrition education and physical activity promotion) are needed in this population.

Effects of a remote, YouTube-delivered exercise intervention on young adults’ physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep during the COVID-19 pandemic: Randomized controlled trial

“…These findings are consistent with other findings among young adults demonstrating that there is an inverse relationship between SB and sleep efficiency. 68 Likewise, a growing body of research has demonstrated that increased PA levels improve adults’ sleep quality. Thus, the concurrent decreases in SB and increases in PA among the intervention group—especially that of moderate- and vigorous-intensities—lead to significantly improved sleep efficiency.…”

Relationship between free-time physical activity and sleep quality in Brazilian university students

“…However, previous evidence supports the direction of this association, attributing to physical activity a predictive effect for better sleep quality 18 . Although sedentary behavior is associated with both variables of interest 23 , 24 , information on this behavior was not available for the present study. Although accelerometers and pedometers are used as objective measures to assess this practice 25 , questionnaires are commonly employed in epidemiological studies 26 .…”

Syndrome Metabolic Markers, Fitness and Body Fat Is Associated with Sleep Quality in Women with Severe/Morbid Obesity

“…In this context, it was demonstrated in adult subjects that poorer sleep efficiency is related to higher fat mass [24]. In addition, a recent study reported that BMI negatively predicted sleep duration and sleep efficiency in Chinese young adults [25]. Sweatt et al [26] showed that lower sleep quality is associated with elevated visceral adipose tissue, and poor sleep quality was positively associated with fat mass percentage in Spanish subjects [27].…”