Sleep patterns in relation to dietary patterns and cardio‐metabolic risk: An update from Drummond Pump Priming Award recipients

This article provides an update on the project ‘Sleep patterns in relation to dietary patterns and cardio‐metabolic risk’, which received funding from the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) Drummond Pump Priming Award. Studying the relationship between sleep, the biological clock, timing of eating and nutrition is part of a new research area termed chrono‐nutrition. With the help of the BNF award, a PhD project was set up to investigate the effects of sleep duration and quality on energy balance, dietary intake and quality, and cardio‐metabolic risk factors. The project included three studies: (1) a systematic review and meta‐analysis investigating whether partial sleep deprivation results in positive energy balance; (2) a cross‐sectional study exploring associations between energy balance, dietary intake and quality, chrono‐nutrition and cardio‐metabolic risk factors; and (3) a randomised controlled intervention feasibility study investigating whether sleep extension in participants with chronic mild sleep deprivation can improve energy balance, diet quality, body composition and cardio‐metabolic risk profile. The systematic review showed that partial sleep deprivation results in a net positive energy balance arising from a significantly higher energy intake of 385 kcal/day, with no compensatory effect on energy expenditure. Results from the cross‐sectional and randomised controlled feasibility studies are expected later this year. Overall, the project will help to establish whether sleep extension can be used in combination with existing weight management strategies to reduce the burden of obesity and metabolic dysregulation, which are major public health threats.