‘The Weight of Early Stress and Trauma: An Analysis of How Adverse Childhood Experiences, PTSD, and CPTSD Influence Adult Obesity Rates’
Abstract
Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been associated with adverse health outcomes in adulthood, including obesity. Psychological responses to childhood adversity, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD), may also be relevant to this relationship. However, the associations between childhood adversity, PTSD/CPTSD, and adult obesity remain incompletely understood. This study examined the relationships between ACEs, PTSD, CPTSD, and body mass index (BMI) in adults. Methods: A cross-sectional correlational study was conducted using an anonymous online survey. Participants were recruited through social media and referrals. Ninety-five adults aged 18–73 years (M = 39.98, SD = 14.43; 69% female) completed measures of ACEs using the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire (ACEQ), PTSD and CPTSD using the International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ), and demographic and self-reported height and weight measures from which BMI was derived. Correlational, regression, and between-group analyses were conducted to examine associations between ACE scores, PTSD/CPTSD severity, and BMI. Results: ACE scores significantly predicted BMI (β = .69, p = .03), accounting for 4.9% of the variance. Participants with obesity reported significantly higher ACE scores than participants classified as healthy weight (p = .037). Positive but non-significant associations were observed between BMI and PTSD severity (r = .14) and CPTSD severity (r = .18). Participants meeting criteria for CPTSD reported significantly higher ACE scores than those who did not meet CPTSD criteria (p = .008). Female participants also reported significantly higher ACE scores than male participants (p = .027).
Conclusions: The findings provide evidence of an association between greater exposure to childhood adversity and adult BMI, consistent with previous research linking ACEs with obesity. Higher ACE exposure was also associated with meeting criteria for CPTSD, while associations between PTSD/CPTSD severity and BMI were comparatively weak and did not reach statistical significance. Given the cross-sectional design, self-reported measures, and relatively small sample, the findings should not be interpreted as evidence of causal relationships. Larger longitudinal studies are needed to clarify the mechanisms linking childhood adversity, trauma-related psychopathology, and obesity and to investigate implications for integrated approaches to trauma and obesity prevention and intervention.
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BibTeX
@misc{holleran2026weight,
title = {{‘The Weight of Early Stress and Trauma: An Analysis of How Adverse Childhood Experiences, PTSD, and CPTSD Influence Adult Obesity Rates’}},
author = {Lynn Holleran and Samuel Bennett},
howpublished = {PsyArXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.31234/osf.io/cetzu_v1},
url = {https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/cetzu_v1/},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - ‘The Weight of Early Stress and Trauma: An Analysis of How Adverse Childhood Experiences, PTSD, and CPTSD Influence Adult Obesity Rates’
AU - Lynn Holleran
AU - Samuel Bennett
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/21
PB - PsyArXiv
DO - 10.31234/osf.io/cetzu_v1
UR - https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/cetzu_v1/
AB - Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been associated with adverse health outcomes in adulthood, including obesity. Psychological responses to childhood adversity, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD), may also be relevant to this relationship. However, the associations between childhood adversity, PTSD/CPTSD, and adult obesity remain incompletely understood. This study examined the relationships between ACEs, PTSD, CPTSD, and body mass index (BMI) in adults. Methods: A cross-sectional correlational study was conducted using an anonymous online survey. Participants were recruited through social media and referrals. Ninety-five adults aged 18–73 years (M = 39.98, SD = 14.43; 69% female) completed measures of ACEs using the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire (ACEQ), PTSD and CPTSD using the International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ), and demographic and self-reported height and weight measures from which BMI was derived. Correlational, regression, and between-group analyses were conducted to examine associations between ACE scores, PTSD/CPTSD severity, and BMI. Results: ACE scores significantly predicted BMI (β = .69, p = .03), accounting for 4.9% of the variance. Participants with obesity reported significantly higher ACE scores than participants classified as healthy weight (p = .037). Positive but non-significant associations were observed between BMI and PTSD severity (r = .14) and CPTSD severity (r = .18). Participants meeting criteria for CPTSD reported significantly higher ACE scores than those who did not meet CPTSD criteria (p = .008). Female participants also reported significantly higher ACE scores than male participants (p = .027). Conclusions: The findings provide evidence of an association between greater exposure to childhood adversity and adult BMI, consistent with previous research linking ACEs with obesity. Higher ACE exposure was also associated with meeting criteria for CPTSD, while associations between PTSD/CPTSD severity and BMI were comparatively weak and did not reach statistical significance. Given the cross-sectional design, self-reported measures, and relatively small sample, the findings should not be interpreted as evidence of causal relationships. Larger longitudinal studies are needed to clarify the mechanisms linking childhood adversity, trauma-related psychopathology, and obesity and to investigate implications for integrated approaches to trauma and obesity prevention and intervention.
ER -