Brief communication: Posttraumatic stress disorder as a risk factor for obesity among male military veterans

Vieweg WVR, Julius DA, Bates J, Quinn III JF, Fernandez A, Hasnain M, Pandurangi AK. Posttraumatic stress disorder as a risk factor for obesity among male military veterans. Obesity is a significant public health problem in the United States, particularly among military veterans with multiple risk factors. Heretofore, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has not clearly been identified as a risk factor for this condition. We accessed both a national and local database of PTSD veterans. Body mass index (BMI) was greater (P < 0.0001) among male military veterans (n = 1819) with PTSD (29.28 ± 6.09 kg/m2) than those veterans (n = 44 959) without PTSD (27.61 ± 5.99 kg/m2) in a sample of randomly selected veterans from the national database. In the local database of male military veterans with PTSD, mean BMI was in the obese range (30.00 ± 5.65) and did not vary by decade of life ( P = 0.242). Posttraumatic stress disorder may be a risk factor for overweight and obesity among male military veterans.