Lack of sleep as a contributor to obesity in adolescents: impacts on eating and activity behaviors.

This "call to action" article argues that sleep should be taken more seriously by the public health community and by our society in general, i.e., given as much attention and resources as nutrition and physical activity. Not only that having a good night's sleep is as important as eating a healthy diet and being regularly physically active for overall health, but sleeping habits also impact eating and screen time behaviors and, therefore, can influence body weight control. Short sleep duration, poor sleep quality, and late bedtimes are all associated with excess food intake, poor diet quality, and obesity in adolescents. Sleep, sedentary behavior, physical activity and diet all interact and influence each other to ultimately impact health. A holistic approach to health (i.e., the whole day matters) targeting all of these behaviors synergistically is needed to optimize the impact of our interventions. Sleep is not a waste of time and sleep hygiene is an important factor to consider in the prevention and treatment of obesity.