Purpose of Review: Obesity is an overwhelmingly common medical entity seen in the adult population. A growing body of research demonstrates that there is a significant relationship between child maltreatment and adult obesity. Recent Findings: Emerging research demonstrates a potential dose–response relationship between various types of child abuse and adulthood BMI. Recent work also explores the potential role of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, and other hormonal mediators such as sex-hormone binding globulin and leptin. There are also studies that suggest factors such as depression and socioeconomic and environmental influences mediate this relationship. Comorbidities that have been reported include cardiovascular and metabolic disease, diabetes, and insulin resistance. Preliminary work also demonstrates potential gender and racial disparities in the effect of abuse on adulthood obesity. Summary: In this narrative review, we summarize the existing work describing the different child maltreatment types (physical, sexual, emotional, verbal, and child neglect) and their relation to adult obesity, what is known about a potential dose-response relationship, potential mediators and pathophysiology, comorbidities, and preliminary work on gender and racial/ethnic disparities. We review the limited data on interventions that have been studied, and close with a discussion of implications and suggestions for clinicians who treat adult obesity, as well as potential future research directions.

Liberia is a low‐income country in West Africa that has faced significant challenges, including a civil war and the recent Ebola epidemic. Little data exists on the more current post‐war and pre‐Ebola trends of child health in Liberia in the rural setting. This study is a retrospective chart review of pediatric mortality in 2013 at a rural tertiary care center in Liberia, 10 years post‐war. From January 2013 to December 2013, there were 50 pediatric deaths, or 5.4% of the 920 total pediatric admissions. The most common cause of neonatal death was sepsis, and the most common cause of death under five years of age was malaria. The majority (82.0%) of the deaths were in children under five. Pediatric mortality at this hospital was similar to other reported mortality six years post‐war, and lower than that reported immediately post‐war. Neonatal sepsis and malaria are two significant causes of pediatric mortality in this community and, therefore, further efforts to decrease childhood mortality should focus on these causes.