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The Influence of Sleep and Reading on Overweight of the Children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 May 2019

Raquel Busto-Zapico*
Affiliation:
Universidad de Oviedo (Spain)
Elsa Peña-Suárez
Affiliation:
Universidad de Oviedo (Spain)
Isaac Amigo-Vázquez
Affiliation:
Universidad de Oviedo (Spain)
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Raquel Busto-Zapico. Facultad de Psicología de la Universidad de Oviedo. 33003 Oviedo (Spain). E-mail: rbzapico@gmail.com
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Abstract

The active leisure, in particular reading, and hours of sleep play an important role in health and body mass index (BMI) in children. The aim of this study is to analyze, by means of path analysis, how these variables interact in influencing children’s weight. Two hundred and ninety-one children took part in the study. Their BMI was calculated and they were interviewed. A path analysis indicates that spending more time on leisure-time reading facilitates the control of BMI in two ways. Firstly, it is associated a greater number of active leisure activities (r = .35 p < .001) and predicts more hours of sleep (β = .13 p < .05), which in turn predicts a lower BMI (β = –.15 p < .001). Furthermore, it has been observed that spending more time reading is associated with less time spent on sedentary leisure activities (r = –.17 p < .001). It would appear that in order to control overweight in children, it is necessary to foster a well-ordered lifestyle. Reading as the last activity of the day can make a significant contribution to this process.

Information

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2019 
Figure 0

Table 1.Questionnaire Regarding Physical Activity, Sedentary Leisure Activities and Sleep

Figure 1

Table 2.Descriptive Statistics of the Variables

Figure 2

Table 3.Correlation Matrix between Variables

Figure 3

Table 4.Simple Regression Models of Hours of Sleep and Bedtime

Figure 4

Figure 1.Model of Relationships between BMI, Sleep, Read, Bedtime, Sedentary Leisure, and Active Leisure.**p < .001. *p < .05.All the relationships are statistically significative.