Early Childhood Obesity Risk Factors: Socioeconomic Adversity, Family Dysfunction, Offspring Distress, and Junk Food Self-Medication
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PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To explore the sequence and interaction of infancy and early childhood risk factors, particularly relating to disturbances in the social environment, and how the consequences of such exposures can promote weight gain and obesity. RECENT FINDINGS: This review will argue that socioeconomic adversity is a key upstream catalyst that sets the stage for critical midstream risk factors such as family strain and dysfunction, offspring insecurity, stress, emotional turmoil, low self-esteem, and poor mental health. These midstream risk factors, particularly stress and emotional turmoil, create a more or less perfect foil for calorie-dense junk food self-medication and subtle addiction, to alleviate uncomfortable psychological and emotional states. Disturbances in the social environment during infancy and early childhood appear to play a critical role in weight gain and obesity, through such mechanisms as insecurity, stress, and emotional turmoil, eventually leading to junk food self-medication and subtle addiction.
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A background of ELA may potentiate food addiction behaviours in some individuals, especially within the context of an environment rich in highly processed, calorie dense and extremely palatable food.
“A background of ELA may potentiate food addiction behaviours in some individuals, especially within the context of an environment rich in highly processed, calorie dense and extremely palatable food 4, 21, 22.”
From History of early life adversity is associated with increased food addiction and sex-specific alterations in reward network connectivity in obesity (2019) · cites this paper as [4]
For some individuals, a history of early life adversity (ELA), including physical and emotional abuse, trauma, neglect and family discord, can increase the risk of developing obesity in adulthood through mechanisms associated with stress, inflammation, emotional perturbations, maladaptive coping, metabolic disturbances and food addiction.
“For some individuals, a history of early life adversity (ELA), including physical and emotional abuse, trauma, neglect and family discord, can increase the risk of developing obesity in adulthood through mechanisms associated with stress, inflammation, emotional perturbations, maladaptive coping, metabolic disturbances and food addiction 3, 4.”
From History of early life adversity is associated with increased food addiction and sex-specific alterations in reward network connectivity in obesity (2019) · cites this paper as [4]
A history of ELA contributes to an imbalance in these CNS networks.
“A history of ELA contributes to an imbalance in these CNS networks 4.”
From History of early life adversity is associated with increased food addiction and sex-specific alterations in reward network connectivity in obesity (2019) · cites this paper as [4]
Paramount are the social determinants of health, particularly given associations between social disadvantage and the lifetime accumulation of stress and trauma, as well as how social factors impact opioid use and nutritional status.
“Paramount are the social determinants of health, particularly given associations between social disadvantage and the lifetime accumulation of stress and trauma, as well as how social factors impact opioid use (224, 225) and nutritional status (226, 227).”
From A Biopsychosocial Overview of the Opioid Crisis: Considering Nutrition and Gastrointestinal Health (2019) · cites this paper as [226]
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References 64 · Cited by 261
- Authors
- Hemmingsson, E.
- Affiliations
- Karolinska Institutet (SE)
- Corresponding author
- Hemmingsson, Erik
- ORCID
- Hemmingsson, Erik
- Venue
- Current Obesity Reports
- Published
- 2018-04-27
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 204-209
- ISSN
- 2162-4968 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5958160
- OpenAlex
- W2800206722
- Cited by
- 261
- References
- 64
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 34 · 2024: 27 · 2023: 58 · 2022: 52 · 2021: 37 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 5
- FWCI
- 3.59
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Current Obesity Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Diva portal (Dalarna University Library) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations
- Keywords
- childhood obesity, obesity risk factors, socioeconomic adversity, family dysfunction, family strain, insecure attachment, childhood stress, emotional turmoil, low self-esteem, mental health, food addiction, social environment, infancy, early childhood
- MeSH terms
- Exposure to Violence, Food Addiction, Affective Disorders, Psychotic, Child Behavior, Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena, Child, Preschool, Food Preferences, Humans, Infant, Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena, Models, Psychological, Risk Factors, Self Concept, Socioeconomic Factors, Stress, Psychological, Weight Gain, Infant Behavior, Family Conflict, Fast Foods, Pediatric Obesity
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