Napping and Obesity in Adults – What do we Know?

To review the evidence on the relationship between daytime napping and obesity.

There is concern that napping may be harmful to metabolic health. Prospective studies have shown long time daytime napping (> 1 h) is associated with increased diabetes risk which may be partly associated with obesity. Evidence from numerous cross-sectional studies and meta-analyses of cross-sectional studies have shown that long time napping (> 1 h) but not short time napping is associated with increased risk of obesity, and this is seen worldwide. Inference regarding the nature of association from cross-sectional studies is limited; it is suggested the association is bidirectional. Prospective studies on the association between daytime napping and obesity are few and results unclear.

Large longitudinal studies integrating daytime napping duration and night-time sleep behaviour and detailed information on lifestyle influences is needed to help elucidate further the associations of long time napping with obesity.