Associations between sleep, energy balance, and obesity markers over 6 months in Black emerging adults—pilot study findings from the Sleep, Health Outcomes, and Body Weight (SHOW) study

Insufficient sleep (short sleep duration and poor sleep quality) is associated with obesity risk. Emerging adults (ages 18-28 years) have a greater risk of excess weight gain and insufficient sleep, and these risks are higher in Black individuals. Using a measurement burst design, we assessed associations between sleep with energy balance components and obesity marker changes over 6 months in 15 Black emerging adults (12 females; age: 21 ± 2.5 years; body mass index: 25.7 ± 4.5 kg/m²; body fat: 25.8 ± 11.9%). Since our sample was predominantly female (80%), we repeated our analyses for females only. Participants completed the following measurements at baseline (BLN) and 6 months later (6MO): 7 days of actigraphy-based sleep and physical activity energy expenditure (EE) and 2 nights of in-home polysomnography-based sleep; resting EE and thermic effect of food with indirect calorimetry; ad libitum energy intake (EI) via self-reported methods over 4 days and directly measured over 3 days with provided meals. Body weight (2.6 kg, <i>p</i> = 0.01) and waist circumference (2.4 cm, <i>p</i> = 0.03) increased from BLN to 6MO. Changes in actigraphy-based sleep duration were associated with changes in body weight (β = 0.03, standard error (SE) = 0.02, <i>p</i> = 0.04) and fat mass (β = 0.07, SE = 0.03 <i>p</i> = 0.03) in females only. Greater rapid eye movement sleep duration was associated with increases in resting EE (β = 2.24, SE = 0.84, <i>p</i> = 0.02). Greater slow-wave sleep was associated with increases in self-reported EI (β = 18.34, SE = 4.7, <i>p</i> < 0.01). Sleep may impact components of energy balance and risk of weight gain in Black emerging adults. Additional research is needed to confirm our pilot findings.