Effects of childhood abuse on adult obesity: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

Controversy exists surrounding the role of childhood abuse in obesity development. This is a meta‐analysis of observational studies on the role of childhood abuse in adult obesity. Systematic searches of PubMed, PsycInfo, Medline and CINAHL resulted in 23 cohort studies (4 prospective, 19 retrospective) with n = 112,708 participants, containing four abuse types (physical, emotional, sexual, general). Four studies reported dose–response effects. A random effects model was used to quantify effect sizes, meta‐regression/subgroup analysis for identifying potential moderating variables and Egger's test for publication bias. Adults who reported childhood abuse were significantly more likely to be obese (odds ratio [OR]: 1.34, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.24–1.45, P