Abuse Linked to Obesity in Study on Children

Women who undergo physical and sexual abuse as children are 35 percent more likely to become overweight or obese later on in life, say the conclusions of a new research. The work is based on analyzing data from the Black Women's Health Study, which includes 33,000 participants.

This is just the latest in a series of investigations that link several forms of childhood abuse to long-lasting consequences in adult life including, but not limited to, depression, anxiety, obesity and more. Details of the new study appear in the latest issue of the journal Nature.

“Abuse during childhood may adversely shape health behaviors and coping strategies, which could lead to greater weight gain in later life,” Boston Medical Center expert Renene Boynton-Jarrett, MD, explains, quoted by PsychCentral.

Experts now hope that investigating this issue further will provide them with new methods for preventing obesity in adults. The work may also lead to new treatment approaches against this fast-spreading epidemic.