Victims of child abuse have an increased risk of becoming obese during adulthood, a new study has found.

Swedish researchers analysed the results from 23 studies involving over 112,000 people and found that adults were 34% more likely to be obese if they were abused as children, compared to their non-abused peers.

A breakdown of different types of abuse found that those who were emotionally abused had a 36% increased risk of becoming obese, those who were sexually abused had a 31% increased risk and those who were physically abused had a 28% increased risk.

Among people who had been subjected to severe abuse, the risk of obesity in adulthood was 50% higher.

"The study clearly shows that difficult life events leave traces which can manifest as disease much later in life. The mechanisms behind this process include stress, negative patterns of thought and emotions, poor mental health, increased inflammation, as well as lowered immune function and metabolism," said the researchers from the Karolinska Institutet.

They pointed out that the findings ‘indicate causality - where the abuse is the cause of obesity later in life'.

However, they also emphasised that not everyone who is abused becomes obese and not everyone who is obese has been abused, therefore ‘there are obviously other causes too'.

"At the same time, it is important to remember that child abuse is more common than we think, and it needs to be brought to light," they added.

Details of these findings are published in the journal, Obesity Reviews.