Gender, sleep problems, and obesity in Taiwan: A propensity-score-matching approach

Obesity has become a major health risk in industrialized countries, with disturbed sleep being identified as a risk factor. This study uses the propensity-score-matching method to shed light on gender-specific associations between sleep problems and obesity among 24,113 adults aged 20 to 64 in Taiwan. Data are drawn from Taiwan's 2005 Social Development Trends Survey, conducted by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics of the Executive Yuan of Taiwan (Republic of China). When people who matched on different types of sleep problems (disrupted sleep and restless sleep) were compared, disrupted sleep increased the chance of obesity for both genders. Gender-specific vulnerability to different types of sleep problems was found, however. Men with disrupted sleep and women with restless sleep had elevated rates of obesity, respectively. This difference may be the result of different socially prescribed behavioral responses for the two genders.