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Association of Childhood Sexual Abuse With Obesity in a Community Sample of Lesbians
Author(s) -
Aaron Deborah J.,
Hughes Tonda L.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
obesity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.438
H-Index - 199
eISSN - 1930-739X
pISSN - 1930-7381
DOI - 10.1038/oby.2007.634
Subject(s) - association (psychology) , sexual abuse , obesity , childhood obesity , clinical psychology , psychology , medicine , childhood abuse , developmental psychology , psychiatry , poison control , human factors and ergonomics , environmental health , endocrinology , overweight , psychotherapist
Objective: Our goal was to examine the association between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and obesity in a community‐based sample of self‐identified lesbians. Research Methods and Procedures: A diverse sample of women who self‐identified as lesbian was recruited from the greater Chicago metropolitan area. Women ( n = 416) were interviewed about sexual abuse experiences that occurred before the age of 18. Self‐reported height and weight were used to calculate BMI and categorize women as normal‐weight (<25.0 kg/m 2 ), overweight (25.0 to 29.9 kg/m 2 ), obese (30.0 to 39.9 kg/m 2 ), or severely obese (≥40 kg/m 2 ). The relationship between CSA and BMI was examined using multinomial logistic regression analysis. Results: Overall, 31% of women in the sample reported CSA, and 57% had BMI ≥25.0 kg/m 2 . Mean BMI was 27.8 (±7.2) kg/m 2 and was significantly higher among women who reported CSA than among those who did not report CSA (29.4 vs. 27.1, p < 0.01). CSA was significantly related to weight status; 39% of women who reported CSA compared with 25% of women who did not report CSA were obese ( p = 0.004). After adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, and education, women who reported CSA were more likely to be obese (odds ratio, 1.9; 95% confidence interval, 1.1–3.4) or severely obese (odds ratio, 2.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.1–5.2). Discussion: Our findings, in conjunction with the available literature, suggest that CSA may be an important risk factor for obesity. Understanding CSA as a factor that may contribute to weight gain or act as a barrier to weight loss or maintenance in lesbians, a high‐risk group for both CSA and obesity, is important for developing successful obesity interventions for this group of women.