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Query: UMLS:C0028754 (obesity)
 124,988 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The causes of the current obesity epidemic are multifactorial and include genetic, environmental, and individual factors. One potential risk factor may be the experience of childhood sexual abuse. Childhood sexual abuse is remarkably common and is thought to affect up to one-third of women and one-eighth of men. A history of childhood sexual abuse is associated with numerous psychological sequelae including depression, anxiety, substance abuse, somatization, and eating disorders. Relatively few studies have examined the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and adult obesity. These studies suggest at least a modest relationship between the two. Potential explanations for the relationship have focused on the role of disordered eating, particularly binge eating, as well as the possible "adaptive function" of obesity in childhood sexual abuse survivors. Nevertheless, additional research on the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and obesity is clearly needed, not only to address the outstanding empirical issues but also to guide clinical care.
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PMID:Childhood sexual abuse and obesity. 1524 81

Changes in puberty timing have implications for the treatment of individual children, for the risk of later adult disease, and for chemical testing and risk assessment for the population. Children with early puberty are at a risk for accelerated skeletal maturation and short adult height, early sexual debut, potential sexual abuse, and psychosocial difficulties. Altered puberty timing is also of concern for the development of reproductive tract cancers later in life. For example, an early age of menarche is a risk factor for breast cancer. A low age at male puberty is associated with an increased risk for testicular cancer according to several, but not all, epidemiologic studies. Girls and, possibly, boys who exhibit premature adrenarche are at a higher risk for developing features of metabolic syndrome, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease later in adulthood. Altered timing of puberty also has implications for behavioral disorders. For example, an early maturation is associated with a greater incidence of conduct and behavior disorders during adolescence. Finally, altered puberty timing is considered an adverse effect in reproductive toxicity risk assessment for chemicals. Recent US legislation has mandated improved chemical testing approaches for protecting children's health and screening for endocrine-disrupting agents, which has led to changes in the US Environmental Protection Agency's risk assessment and toxicity testing guidelines to include puberty-related assessments and to the validation of pubertal male and female rat assays for endocrine screening.
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PMID:Public health implications of altered puberty timing. 1824 14

In this study, we examined the prevalence of traumatic childhood experiences as well as the quality of parental caretaking among 121 individuals (85.9% of which were women) seeking surgical treatment for obesity (mean body mass index of 47.2). Among this sample, 43.0% reported emotional abuse, 39.0% the witnessing of violence, 19.0% sexual abuse, 17.4% physical abuse, and 9.1% physical neglect. While the overall quality of parental caretaking was skewed toward a positive rating, those respondents who indicated each form of childhood trauma rated the quality of parental caretaking lower than did those without that specific form of abuse. The authors discuss the implications of these findings.
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PMID:The prevalence of childhood trauma and parental caretaking quality among gastric surgery candidates. 1830 11

Child maltreatment remains a major public-health and social-welfare problem in high-income countries. Every year, about 4-16% of children are physically abused and one in ten is neglected or psychologically abused. During childhood, between 5% and 10% of girls and up to 5% of boys are exposed to penetrative sexual abuse, and up to three times this number are exposed to any type of sexual abuse. However, official rates for substantiated child maltreatment indicate less than a tenth of this burden. Exposure to multiple types and repeated episodes of maltreatment is associated with increased risks of severe maltreatment and psychological consequences. Child maltreatment substantially contributes to child mortality and morbidity and has longlasting effects on mental health, drug and alcohol misuse (especially in girls), risky sexual behaviour, obesity, and criminal behaviour, which persist into adulthood. Neglect is at least as damaging as physical or sexual abuse in the long term but has received the least scientific and public attention. The high burden and serious and long-term consequences of child maltreatment warrant increased investment in preventive and therapeutic strategies from early childhood.
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PMID:Burden and consequences of child maltreatment in high-income countries. 1928 86

Childhood maltreatment has been implicated as a risk factor for adult obesity. We describe the first prospective assessment of adult obesity in individuals with documented histories of childhood physical and sexual abuse and neglect and a matched comparison group in a 30-year follow-up. Using a prospective cohort design, children with court substantiated cases of physical and sexual abuse and neglect (ages 0-11 years) from a Midwest county during 1967-1971 (n=410) were matched with children without histories of abuse or neglect on age, sex, race/ethnicity and approximate family social class (n=303) and followed up and assessed at mean age 41. Outcome measures include BMI and obesity assessed in 2003-2004 as part of a medical status examination and interview. Childhood physical abuse predicted significantly higher BMI scores in adulthood (beta=0.14, P<0.05), even controlling for demographic characteristics, cigarette smoking, and alcohol consumption (beta=0.16, P<0.01). Childhood sexual abuse (beta=0.07, not significant) and neglect (beta=0.02, not significant) were not significant predictors of adult BMI scores. These results demonstrate the long-term impact of childhood physical abuse on weight into adulthood and suggest that physically abused children may be at risk for other adverse health outcomes associated with increased weight. Health professionals need to understand this risk for physically abused children and researchers should identify and evaluate strategies for effective interventions.
Obesity (Silver Spring) 2009 Oct
PMID:A 30-year follow-up of the effects of child abuse and neglect on obesity in adulthood. 1947 89

Tubo-ovarian abscesses (TOA) are acute complications of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). PID is an infection of the upper genital tract that is usually caused by an ascending sexually transmitted infection. We present two cases of TOA in patients who deny any history of sexual activity or sexual abuse. In our first case a TOA was the primary manifestation of Crohn's disease. The TOA in our second case was attributed to a combination of obesity, constipation, recurrent urinary tract infections, and poor hygiene. In both cases the laparoscopic evaluation revealed purulent fluid collections in the fallopian tubes that were not evident on imaging. These cases support the use of laparoscopy for diagnosis in atypical cases.
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PMID:Tubo-ovarian abscess in virginal adolescents: exposure of the underlying etiology. 1953 89

The authors investigated the relationship between childhood abuse and obesity in young adulthood (M age = 22) in a large, U.S. representative sample (N = 15,197). Controlling for demographics and depression, men with a history of childhood sexual abuse were at increased risk of overweight and obesity. No association between childhood abuse and obesity or overweight was observed for women in this sample. Higher percentages of skipping meals to lose weight and problematic eating were observed among women with a history of physical abuse. This is the first study to note an association between childhood abuse with obesity and problematic weight management behaviors in a sample of young adults.
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PMID:Adverse childhood events are associated with obesity and disordered eating: results from a U.S. population-based survey of young adults. 1958 10

Several studies have shown that physical and/or sexual abuse during childhood may lead to the development of obesity later in life. Despite these consistent findings, the mechanism for the increased risk of obesity following developmental trauma is unknown. It has been suggested that psychological dysfunction, including the presence of disordered eating behavior, may account for the added risk of adult obesity. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed the prevalence and severity of different types of early traumatic life events, assessed the presence of co-existing psychiatric disorders and measured adult attachment style in a sample of 200 subjects including non-obese healthy volunteers and obese participants undergoing a psychiatric assessment to determine suitability for bariatric surgery. Participants who scored higher on a scale measuring the severity of traumatic events experienced during the first 15years of their lives were more likely to be obese at the time of testing. The exclusion of the participants who experienced physical and/or sexual abuse did not change the results of statistical analysis. Severity of early trauma remained a significant predictor of adult obesity when the influence of psychiatric diagnosis and anxious attachment was taken into account. These findings suggest that: (1) not only sexual or physical abuse but also less severe forms of early-life stress are linked to the development of obesity later in life; and (2) psychological dysfunction is not the only mechanism mediating the elevated risk of obesity in persons exposed to early-life trauma.
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PMID:Early trauma and adult obesity: is psychological dysfunction the mediating mechanism? 1973 90

Little is known about the relationship between relative body weight and transition from experimentation to regular smoking in young adult women. In the current study, data from 2494 participants in wave 4 of the Missouri Adolescent Female Twin Study (aged 18-29years) who reported ever smoking a cigarette were analyzed using logistic regression. Body mass index (BMI) at time of interview was categorized according to CDC adult guidelines, and regular smoking was defined as having ever smoked 100 or more cigarettes and having smoked at least once a week for two months in a row. Since the OR's for the overweight and obese groups did not differ significantly from one another in any model tested, these groups were combined. Forty-five percent of women who had ever smoked had become regular smokers. Testing of interactions between potential covariates and levels of the categorical BMI variable revealed a significant interaction between overweight/obesity and childhood sexual abuse (CSA; p<0.001) associated with regular smoking. Among women reporting CSA, the association between overweight/obesity and having become a regular smoker was negative (n=374; OR=0.48, 95% CI: 0.28-0.81). Both underweight and overweight/obesity were positively associated with transition to regular smoking among women who did not report CSA (n=2076; OR=1.57, 95% CI: 1.05-2.35 and OR=1.73, 95% CI: 1.35-2.20, respectively). These results suggest that experiencing CSA alters the association between BMI and regular smoking in women who have experimented with cigarettes.
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PMID:Body mass index and regular smoking in young adult women. 2063 4

We examined the associations between exposure to interpersonal violence in childhood and risk for obesity and central adiposity. Interpersonal violence is defined as behaviour that threatens, attempts or causes physical harm. In addition, we evaluated the evidence for three mechanisms that may connect interpersonal violence to obesity: negative affect, disordered eating and physical inactivity. Based on a literature search of Medline and PsycInfo databases, 36 separate studies were evaluated and ranked based on quality. Approximately 81% of the studies reported a significant positive association between some type of childhood interpersonal violence and obesity, although 83% of the studies were cross-sectional. Associations were consistent for caregiver physical and sexual abuse and peer bullying, and there was mixed evidence for community violence. Although few studies explored mechanisms, early evidence suggests that negative affect and disordered eating may be involved. More prospective studies are needed, as well as studies that examine the mechanisms connecting early childhood victimization to obesity and central adiposity.
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PMID:Interpersonal violence in childhood as a risk factor for obesity: a systematic review of the literature and proposed pathways. 2140 50


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