Role of Sex and the Environment in Moderating Weight Gain Due to Inadequate Sleep

Abstract

Purpose of review: The growing prevalence of obesity, inadequate sleep and sleep disorders together with the negative impact of lack of sleep on overall health highlights the need for therapies targeted towards weight gain due to sleep loss.

Recent findings: Sex disparities in obesity and sleep disorders are present; yet, the role of sex is inadequately addressed and thus it is unclear whether sensitivity to sleep disruption differs between men and women. Like sex, environmental factors contribute to the development of obesity and poor sleep. The obesogenic environment is characterized by easy access to palatable foods and a low demand for energy expenditure in daily activities. These and other environmental factors are discussed, as they drive altered sleep or their interaction with food choice and intake can promote obesity. We discuss data that suggest differences in sleep patterns and responses to sleep disruption influence sex disparities in weight gain, and that enviromental disturbances alter sleep and interact with features of the obesogenic environment that together promote obesity.

Keywords: Brain; Estrogen; Obesity; Sleep deprivation; Sleep fragmentation.

Fig. 1

a Twenty-four-hour bodyweight gain and b food intake (g) corrected for uneaten food in female Sprague-Dawley rats during the four phases of the estrous cycle including proestrus (P), estrus (E), diestrus 1 (D1), and diestrus 2 (D2) were significantly lower during proestrus compared to any other phase (P < 0.05 for all comparisons). Data are expressed as mean ± SEM; N = 4. Brackets indicate bars that are significantly different from each other (*P < 0.05). Note different scaling on y-axes