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 3months. 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 <6h/day (OR=44.47, 95% CI: 1.42–14.04, p=0.010 and OR=5.10, 95% CI: 1.15–22.70; p=0.032, respectively). Our findings con- firm that the normal sleep pattern is necessary to maintain body weight and optimal body composition.