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Opinion or narrative review

Review of lab and population studies: short sleep linked to higher BMI, weight gain

Van Cauter and colleagues · European journal of endocrinology · 2008

Original title: Sleep and the epidemic of obesity in children and adults.

Under review. A person has not yet checked this summary against the paper. It is written from the PubMed abstract. Until a person checks it, search engines are asked not to list this page.

What the study found

Points to benefit

The review says short sleep is tied to higher body mass index, and to weight gain and obesity in children and young adults. Lab sleep loss shifted hunger and blood sugar hormones.

The study at a glance

Type of study
Opinion or narrative review
Who or what was studied
children and adults in lab and population studies reviewed
What was tested
Reviews lab sleep cuts in young adults and population studies of short sleep and weight
Who has a stake
No disclosure in PubMed
No disclosure in PubMed.
Journal
European journal of endocrinology, 2008
Source
PubMed record 18719052. This page is based on the abstract only.

How much this study counts

  • –An opinion or narrative review: no new data, and no set method for choosing which studies to discuss.
  • •The PubMed record has no conflict-of-interest statement.
  • •Summarized from the PubMed abstract only. The full paper may hold details the abstract leaves out.

✓ Strength– Limit• Note

These points come from fixed rules about the type of study, its size and length, what it measured, and who has a stake. Every study on Digestery gets the same rules.

Where this study sits

This paper is not on the ladder. It is a opinion or narrative review, and reviews and opinion pieces discuss studies that are already counted on the steps below.

↑ Stronger evidence

  1. Trials in people: death and chronic disease

    0

    Not done yet. This is the step that would answer the question.

  2. Trials in people: other measures

    1

    1 benefit

  3. Trials in people: lab tests or safety

    0

    None among the papers we read.

  4. Population studies

    11

    5 benefit, 4 mixed, 2 no difference

  5. Blood levels and genes

    1

    1 benefit

↓ Weaker evidence

  • Points to benefit
  • Mixed
  • No difference
  • No direction
  • Points to harm

How it fits with the other research

The short answer to “How much sleep do adults need for good health?”

Lowest risk at about 7 hours.

Confidence: low. Based on 22 on-topic papers.

Read the full answer
  • Marked as a key paper in the research timeline: 2008 review ties short sleep to obesity rise.

Other opinion on this question

See all 22 studies on this question

How this page was made

Label

First read of the abstract
Claude Sonnet
Independent second read
Claude Haiku
Differences settled
The two reads differed. The reviewer checked the abstract and kept the first read. Claude Opus 5.5.
Headline
Claude Sonnet, from the checked study record. A script checked its numbers and wording.
Numbers
Checked against the abstract by a script
“How much this study counts”
Fixed rules, the same for every study
Source check by a person
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