According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), more than 4.8 million people in the UAE suffer from obesity. These numbers underscore the need for long-term funding into scientific research to develop discoveries in the field of obesity.
Al Jalila Foundation research grant recipient, Dr Teresa Arora from Zayed University, is conducting a pilot study to assess the feasibility of sleep improvement intervention for weight loss, and its maintenance in sleep impaired obese adults.
There is a well established association between sleep and obesity. However, the approach that has not yet been explored is the possibility and effectiveness of treating sleep impaired obese patients with sleep improvement to enhance weight loss and its maintenance.
The study takes obese, sleep impaired adults into two groups to receive lifestyle intervention to improve dietary and exercise habits using evidence-based psychological approaches. One group will additionally undertake a six-week training program to improve sleep targeting sleep duration, quality and timing. Should the twelve-week lifestyle intervention be feasible, secondary outcomes including weight loss and its sustainability will be assessed over six months along with other outcomes, such as mood, sleep, food intake and quality of life