Short Sleep Duration is Associated with Reduced Leptin Levels and Increased Adiposity: Results from the Québec Family Study

There may be optimal sleeping hours at which body weight regulation is facilitated. Indeed, short sleep duration predicts an increased risk of being overweight/obese in adults and is related to a reduced circulating leptin level relative to what is predicted by fat mass. Because sleep duration is a potentially modifiable risk factor, these findings might have important clinical implications for the prevention and treatment of obesity.