• Posted May 20, 2026

Childhood Trauma Tied to Higher Obesity Risk, But One Caring Adult Can Make A Difference

Childhood trauma can increase a kid’s risk of obesity, a study says.

Children’s body mass index (BMI) rose steadily as their personal list of traumas mounted, including abuse, divorce, poverty, neglect or bullying, researchers reported in JAMA Network Open.

However, a caring presence could counteract the stress and subsequent weight gain, researchers found.

“It probably doesn’t even need to be a parent or caregiver in the home,” said lead researcher Dr. Victoria Goldman, a fellow in pediatric endocrinology at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

“Whether it’s a teacher, a coach or someone else, this can have a really big impact on how a kid does when they just have at least one supportive, stable adult who’s there,” Goldman said in a news release.

For the new study, researchers analyzed data from more than 5,400 11- and 12-year-olds of Latinx and Hispanic descent. The data came from a long-term study of brain development and child health in the United States.

Results showed that 3 out of 4 kids had at least one prior adverse childhood event, a number much higher than the researchers anticipated.

As traumas mounted, so too did weight. Every additional two traumatic experiences caused a nearly half-point increase in BMI, researchers said. BMI is an estimate of body fat based on height and weight.

“These stressors can change the body, biologically and hormonally, in ways that can keep increasing weight gain risk,” senior researcher Shana Adise said in a news release. She’s an assistant professor with the College of Family and Consumer Sciences at the University of Georgia in Athens.

Overall, about half of Latinx and Hispanic kids could be classified as overweight or obese, compared to about 30% of their non-Hispanic peers, researchers said.

One contributing factor might be that they are disproportionately affected by childhood traumas, researchers said. More than 83% of Latinx and Hispanic kids reported at least one trauma, compared to 72% of non-Hispanic kids.

“When you are stressed out, you may want to eat that piece of cake because it makes you feel better,” Adise said. “However, there is also a biological mechanism that is driving this behavior. For example, stress causes you to eat more, especially more calorically dense foods.”

However, children who said they had at least one caring adult in their lives tended to have lower BMIs, even if they’d experienced high levels of trauma, the study found.

The study points to a need to screen for these traumas and make sure children get the care and support they need, researchers said.

“We don’t want these kids to turn into early adults who have a range of medical problems that we missed,” Adise said. “Clinical screenings provide a window of opportunity that could prevent this. If a child screens high for these experiences, we can ask: ‘What support does this family need right now? How can we get them that support?’ ”

The takeaway?

“Just one small difference may have a large impact on the health of these kids,” she said.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on healthy weight and growth in children.

SOURCE: University of Georgia, news release, Feb. 18, 2026