The association between child abuse and adult obesity : a systematic review

Abstract

Background: Adult obesity is a major public health issue for both developed and developing countries. Apart from diet and physical activity, evidence suggests that child abuse may also be a possible risk factor associated with the adult obesity.

Methods: The objectives in this review are to systematically identify from 2 electronic databases (PubMed and Google Scholar) and investigate the association between child abuse and adult obesity. The impact of using different self-reported questionnaire to evaluate the abuse experience in childhood are assessed and discussed. Quality and limitations of this review were also emphasized. This systematic review includes articles from various groups of population and explores the different types of abuse.

Results: Studies consistently show that child abuse is more likely to be a risk factor of adult obesity after adjustment for age, sex, race, psychological risk behavior, health risk behavior (exercise), and social economic status. During the past decades the association between child abuse and adult obesity has been well explored. Consistent with the inclusive papers, some identified potential and common confounding factors sex, race, age, social economic status, health behavior (exercise), psychosocial risk factors, and mental health is summarized for further study.

Discussion: Limitations include reporting and information bias, where child abuse can be assessed self-administered questionnaire, face-to-face interview or child services records. Publication bias is another concern that the null findings are less likely to be publish. Although, the measurement suffers several bias, it did help evaluate the abuse situation in childhood and generalize the association between into a standardize form. Due to the prevalence of child abuse and economic burden related to obesity in China, studies in the developing or recently transitioned setting are needed to clarify the relevance of evidence from Western studies to policy making and public health interventions in China. According to recent studies, polices should consider screening of child abuse to better identify the target population and provide effective interventions that help people who are at high risk of obesity due to the child abuse.