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Posttraumatic stress disorder as a risk factor for obesity among male military veterans
W V R Vieweg1, D A Julius, J Bates
1Psychiatry and Medicine Services, Hunter Holmes McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Richmond, VA. vvieweg@visi.net
Objective:
Obesity is a significant public health problem in the United States, particularly among military veterans with multiple risk factors. Heretofore, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has not clearly been identified as a risk factor for this condition.
Method:
We accessed both a national and local database of PTSD veterans.
Results:
Body mass index (BMI) was greater (P < 0.0001) among male military veterans (n = 1819) with PTSD (29.28 +/- 6.09 kg/m(2)) than those veterans (n = 44 959) without PTSD (27.61 +/- 5.99 kg/m(2)) in a sample of randomly selected veterans from the national database. In the local database of male military veterans with PTSD, mean BMI was in the obese range (30.00 +/- 5.65) and did not vary by decade of life (P = 0.242).
Conclusion:
Posttraumatic stress disorder may be a risk factor for overweight and obesity among male military veterans.
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