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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Sports Act. Living
Sec. Physical Activity in the Prevention and Management of Disease
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fspor.2025.1455731
Moderating effect of physical activity in the relationship between sleep quality and BMI in adults with overweight and obesity
Provisionally accepted
Letizia Galasso 1
Ramona De Amicis 2,3
Lucia Castelli 1*
Andrea Michele Ciorciari 1
Antonino Mulè 4
Alberto Battezzati 2
Simona Bertoli 2,3
Andrea Foppiani 2
Alessandro Leone 2
Fabio Esposito 1
Angela Montaruli 1
Eliana Roveda 1- 1 Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy, Milan, Lombardy, Italy
- 2 Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences (DeFENS), University of Milan, Independent researcher, Milan, Italy
- 3 Endocrine Metabolic Research Experimental Laboratory, Italian Auxological Institute (IRCCS), Milan, Italy
- 4 Faculty of Education, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy
Inadequate sleep quality is a significant risk factor for overweight and obesity, which in turn may predispose individuals to adverse health outcomes. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the moderating effect of physical activity in the relationship between sleep quality and BMI in adults with overweight and obesity. In the current cross-sectional study, 589 white European participants (mean age 50 ± 12.2 years; 65% females; mean BMI 31.4 5.5 kg/m 2 ) were recruited from the International Center for the Assessment of Nutritional Status in Italy, between October 2021 and July 2022. They completed the Godin-Shephard Leisure Time Physical Activity Questionnaire and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. The significant moderation model performed on the entire sample (F(3,585)=4.4, p=0.0045, r=0.15, r2=0.02) found statistical significant association between sleep quality and BMI (β=-0.16, p=0.05) and between physical activity and BMI (β=-0.08, p=0.0018), as well as the interaction of sleep quality and physical activity on BMI (β=0.01, p=0.01), particularly for physical activity values equal or higher than 49 Leisure Score Index (LSI) (p=0.004). Moderation analysis revealed a significant effect of physical activity in the relationship between sleep quality and BMI; better sleep quality is associated with lower BMI in individuals with higher levels of physical activity. The present findings suggest new aspects relating to the effect of physical activity in the relationship between sleep quality and overweight/obesity. Therefore, focusing on maintaining adequate levels of physical activity may represent an effective complementary strategy.
Keywords: physical activity, Sleep behavior, Overweight, Obesity, BMI, Moderating effect
Received: 27 Jun 2024; Accepted: 17 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Galasso, De Amicis, Castelli, Ciorciari, Mulè, Battezzati, Bertoli, Foppiani, Leone, Esposito, Montaruli and Roveda. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Lucia Castelli, Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy, Milan, Lombardy, Italy
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