# A prospective examination of sleep, eating behavior, and weight gain among overweight adults

> **NIH NIH P20** · SANFORD RESEARCH NORTH · 2022 · $161,999

## Abstract

A prospective examination of sleep, eating behavior, and weight gain among overweight adults
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Approximately 70% of American adults are overweight or obese, which confers increased risk for reduced
quality of life, disability, chronic disease, and mortality. Efforts to reduce the public health burden of obesity
have identified bio-behavioral factors involved in the development and maintenance of high body weight.
Sleep has emerged as a particularly robust predictor of weight gain and obesity in both prospective and cross-
sectional research, but the mechanisms linking sleep and weight gain have not been adequately defined. The
purpose of the proposed study is to examine actigraphy-assessed sleep duration as a prospective predictor of
binge eating behavior and the extent to which binge eating mediates the relationship between sleep duration
and weight gain and body composition over one year among overweight and obese adults. Further, executive
function (I.e., inhibitory control, working memory, set-shifting, planning, decision making) as measured by a
neurocognitive task battery will be examined as a moderator in the relationship between sleep and binge
eating. As short sleep duration is associated with deficits in executive function, we hypothesize that higher trait
levels of executive function will attenuate the effect of short sleep duration on binge eating. Achievement of
our study aims will provide novel insight into the role of disordered eating behavior as a mechanism linking
sleep and obesity and elucidate the extent to which executive function may affect sleep’s impact on eating
behavior and weight gain. The knowledge gained from this study has the potential to inform obesity prevention
or intervention efforts and identify vulnerable individuals which allows for more strategic allocation of public
health resources.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10379919
- **Project number:** 5P20GM134969-02
- **Recipient organization:** SANFORD RESEARCH NORTH
- **Principal Investigator:** Leah A Irish
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $161,999
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-04-01 → 2026-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10379919

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10379919, A prospective examination of sleep, eating behavior, and weight gain among overweight adults (5P20GM134969-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10379919. Licensed CC0.

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