Analyzing the Association between Adverse Childhood Experiences and an Increase in Body Mass Index among Adolescents (10-17 years)

Purpose: Adolescent obesity is a major public health concern in the United States1, 2. According to the CDC, more than 33% of children and adolescents are either overweight or obese1 . A major known risk factor for changes in BMI status is stress3 . Multiple risk factors, such as living in a food desert, race, and exposure to family and neighborhood stressors cause various emotional and physiological changes in the body, which can increase the risk of adolescent obesity3, 4, 5. Due to this, we use the socio-ecological model to understand intertwined risk factors of adolescent obesity3 . Based on biological and scientific evidence we hypothesized that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with body mass index (BMI) status among adolescents aged 10-17 years. Methods: The secondary data analysis was done using the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children’s Health and conducted univariate, bivariate, and polytomous logistic regression to assess the relationship between ACEs and BMI while controlling for gender, federal poverty level, health insurance status, learning disabilities, and how often the studied family eats meals together. The estimation of adjusted odds ratio represents an adolescent having undergone at least one or more ACEs and its effect on BMI measured in three categories: underweight\normal weight, overweight and obese. Results: The odds of being overweight are 1.10 times higher (95% CI 0.94-1.30) for adolescents who are exposed to 1 ACE, while the odds of being overweight are 1.26 times higher (95% CI 1.08-1.47) for adolescents with 2 or more ACEs, with both odds ratios being compared to adolescents with normal BMI and no ACEs. The odds of being obese are 1.13 times higher (95% CI 0.96-1.33) for adolescents who are exposed to 1 ACE, while the odds of being obese are 1.43 times higher (95% CI 1.20-1.71) for adolescents with 2 or more ACEs, with both odds ratios being compared to adolescents with normal BMI and no ACEs. Conclusion: The study observed that increasing the number of ACEs adolescent experiences increases the odds of being overweight or obese. These results indicate that public health professionals should intervene at each level of the socio-ecological model in order prevent major fluctuations in adolescent BMI status.