Background: The association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and obesity in developing countries has been underexplored and inconsistent.
Methods: This cross-sectional study used data of 10,054 adults aged ≥ 45 years from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. Information on 12 ACE indicators was collected via questionnaires. General obesity was defined as a body mass index (BMI) of ≥28 kg/m². Central obesity was defined as a waist circumference of ≥90 cm for males and ≥85 cm for females. Logistic and linear regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the association of ACEs with general obesity, central obesity, BMI, and waist circumference where appropriate.
Results: Compared to the non-exposed group, the experience of ≥3 ACEs was significantly associated with decreased risks of general obesity (OR = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.69, 0.999), central obesity (OR = 0.88, 95% 0.77, 0.997), and smaller BMI (β = -0.27, 95% CI: -0.50, -0.04) and waist circumference (β = -0.89, 95% CI: -1.52, -0.26). Compared to the high socioeconomic status (SES) group, such associations were more evident in those with a low SES, except for central obesity.
Conclusion: ACEs were shown to be inversely associated with later-life obesity in China, especially in socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. The context-specific impacts reflect divergent roles of socioeconomic position in the obesity epidemic between developed and developing countries. Further investigations are needed to confirm whether physical activity could shift the direction of this association.
Keywords: Chinese adults; adverse childhood experiences; central obesity; developing country; general obesity.