U.S. researchers have found that mothers who reported some form of intimate partner violence were more likely than others to have children who were obese by age 5.

It has been reported that Dr. Renee Boynton-Jarrett of the Boston University School of Medicine and colleagues tracked 1,595 children born from 1998 to 2000 until the children were age 5.

Published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, the study found 49.4 percent of mothers reported some form of intimate partner violence and of these women, 16.5 percent of the children were obese at age 5.

The study also said that the findings persisted even when several confounding factors where included, such as television watching, depression among mothers, smoking during pregnancy and child birth weight.

The study authors said in a statement, "First, if intimate partner violence influences maternal responsiveness to the socioemotional needs of the child, then feeding practices may be influenced. Second, witnessing family violence may be associated with emotional distress and emotion-focused coping using food to self-soothe and address negative emotions." (With Inputs from Agencies)