Obesity and Bullying

Christian Nordqvist wrote a nice summary of recent research for  Medical News Today on the relationship of obesity with bullying.  Here are a few excerpts.

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A new study published in the journal Pediatrics reports that obese children have a higher risk of being bullied, regardless of race, socioeconomic status, social skills, academic achievement or gender. The study, titled “Weight status as a predictor of being bullied in third through sixth grades” was carried out by Julie C. Lumeng, M.D., . . . and her colleagues.

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The aim of this study was to establish the link between childhood obesity and being the victim of bullying in 3^rd, 5^th, and 6^th grades.

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Researchers studied 821 children who were . . . . recruited at birth in 10 study sites around the USA.

The researchers evaluated the relationship between the child’s weight status and the chances of being bullied as reported by the child, mother, and teacher. The study accounted for grade level in school, gender, race, family income-to-needs ratio, racial and socioeconomic composition of the school, and child social skills and academic achievement as reported by mothers and teachers.

They found that obese children had a higher risk of being bullied, regardless of gender, race, family socioeconomic status, school demographic profile, social skills or academic achievement.

The authors conclude that being obese – by itself – raises the probability of being a victim of bullying. Lumeng adds that interventions to address bullying in schools are badly needed.

Lumeng said “Physicians who care for obese children should consider the role that being bullied is playing in the child’s well-being. Because perceptions of children are connected to broader societal perceptions about body type, it is important to fashion messages aimed at reducing the premium placed on thinness and the negative stereotypes that are associated with being obese or overweight.”

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To read the entire summary, click here.  For a sample of related Situationist posts see “The Situation of Bullying,” “The Cruelty of Children,” “Examining the Bullying Situation,” “The Situation of Bullying,” “The Neuro-Situation of Violence and Empathy,” “The Policy Situation of Obesity,” “The Situation of Body Image,” “Social Networks,” “Common Cause: Combating the Epidemics of Obesity and Evil,” “The Situation of Fatness = Our ‘Obesogenic’ Society,”