Relationship between sleep pattern and efficacy of calorie-restricted Mediterranean diet in overweight/obese subjects

The association between the sleep pattern and the effectiveness of a calorie-restricted Mediterranean diet in people with overweight/obesity has been investigated in this study. Four hundred and three subjects were provided with a calorie-restricted Mediterranean diet and followed for 9 months. Personal information, including sleep pattern, was obtained at the baseline. Body weight and composition were measured every 3 months. Poor sleepers reported to have significantly (p < .05) higher BMI and fat mass percentage than good sleepers. Among the good sleepers (6-8 h/day), women showed a greater reduction in fat mass than men after dieting (-3.6 vs. -2 kg, p = .05). Women who reported sleeping 6-8 or >8 h/day had an increased probability of losing fat mass than women who reported sleeping <6 h/day (OR = 4.47, 95% CI: 1.42-14.04, p = .010 and OR = 5.10, 95% CI: 1.15-22.70; p = .032, respectively). Our findings confirm that the normal sleep pattern is necessary to maintain body weight and optimal body composition.