Sleep quality and its relationship with night eating syndrome, the risk of diabetes, and nutritional status among university students

Abstract

Changes in sleep quality increase the risk of diabetes and obesity by affecting nutrition. This
study was conducted to find the correlation between sleep quality and night eating syndrome in addition to
obesity predisposition and the risk of diabetes. 550 university students including 330 women and 220 men
between the ages of 17-42 years participated in the study. A face to face questionnaire was conducted in order
to collect information about their personal characteristics, nutritional habits, and physical activities. Their
anthropometric measurements were taken and food consumption in the last 24 hours were recorded. The
Night Eating Syndrome Questionnaire, the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index, and the Finnish Diabetes Risk
Score were conducted on the participants. 40% of the students were found to have good sleep quality, while
60% were found to have poor sleep quality. The median values of night eating syndrome, the risk of diabetes,
and the sleep quality scores of participants with good sleep quality were significantly lower than that of the
participants with poor sleep quality. Also, a positive correlation was found between the sleep quality score
along with the night eating and diabetes risk scores. Moreover, night eating syndrome and sleep duration were
positively correlated with waist circumference and waist/height ratio which are indicators of obesity. As a result,
the study found that poor sleep quality increased night eating syndrome, obesity predisposition, and the
risk of diabetes, a metabolic disease. University students may be recommended to improve their sleep quality
in order to prevent the above-mentioned metabolic diseases.