I am sure there are some morbidly obese people who had wonderful childhoods, but I am not one of them. I took note of a report about "ACEs"--adverse childhood experiences-- and their relationship to adult health. Give yourself a point for each one of the 7 categories of adverse childhood experiences studied: 1. psychological abuse. 2. physical abuse. 3. sexual abuse. 4. Violence against mother. 5. living with household members who were substance abusers. 6. Living with someone who was mentally ill or suicidal. And 7. Living with someone who was ever imprisoned. The more points on the ACE test, the worse adult health risk behaviors and diseases were. Those with a score of 4 or higher (compared with those with a 0 score) had 4- to 12-fold increased health risks for alcoholism, drug abuse, depression, and suicide attempt; a 2- to 4-fold increase in smoking, poor self-rated health, ≥50 sexual intercourse partners, and sexually transmitted disease; and a 1.4- to 1.6-fold increase in physical inactivity and morbid obesity. The higher the score, the greater the risk of adult diseases including heart disease, cancer, chronic lung disease, skeletal fractures, and liver disease. The overall findings don't surprise me, except for cancer, but the magnitude of the increase is higher than I would have guessed. My ACE score is 6, so I guess I am lucky that I have only morbid obesity and a few of the other health effects to report. I am glad this connection to adult health is being studied. Does it absolve me of any responsibility for my health status? No, but it makes me realize the gift you give your children by giving them a score of 0 on the ACE test.