title: The longitudinal relationship between sleep duration and body mass index in children: a growth mixture modeling approach.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A growing number of studies indicate that shorter sleep durations could contribute to obesity in children. The objective of this article was to further examine the longitudinal relationship between sleep duration and body mass index (BMI) in children by using a growth mixture modeling approach.
  
  
  METHODS
  This article used prospective data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Participants included 1079 children aged 4 to 5 years (2004) followed up until age 10 to 11 years (2010). Growth mixture modeling was performed to examine the longitudinal association between sleep duration and body mass index within distinct body mass index trajectories.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results indicated 3 distinct body mass index trajectories: healthy weight, early onset obesity, and later onset obesity. Longitudinal inverse associations were evident between sleep duration and body mass index in the Early Onset Trajectory. There were some associations between sleep duration and body mass index in the other trajectories.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This article provides further insight into the longitudinal relationship between sleep duration and body mass index in children. In particular, the results indicate that shorter sleep durations are primarily associated with body mass index in children with early onset obesity.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Health Initiatives, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia. cmagee@uow.edu.au
authors.forename: Christopher A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Magee
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Caputi
authors.forename: Don C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Iverson
mesh_terms: D017668:Age of Onset; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006803:Human Development / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors