The Impact of Weight Status on School Age Children's Daytime Sleepiness

Objective: We investigated whether body mass index (BMI) is associated with daytime sleepiness among school children and adolescents. Methods: We collected cross-sectional data on BMI and daytime sleepiness from 349 4^th-12th graders to estimate the association between BMI and daytime sleepiness, controlling for potential confounders. Results: Using multiple linear regression analysis, we found that higher BMI scores were associated with more daytime sleepiness (β = .12; p < .05). Conclusions: The association of sleep, sleepiness, and weight status is complex and nuanced. Our findings provide insight into this association by suggesting that BMI relates to daytime sleepiness, even when controlling for confounding variables. This implies that efforts to change one could impact the other.