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You are here: Home / Diet / Obese Children and Bullying

Obese Children and Bullying

August 2, 2010 by Scott "Q" Marcus

It was lousy growing up fat. Nothing was more degrading than buying my clothes in the “husky” section. Okay, maybe showering in front of a bunch of guys after high school P.E. was worse… or, wait, never dating… or, wait a second, here’s one: being teased behind my back – and for that matter – to my face… or, well… I guess there are countless things that suck about being a fat kid.

A recent study shows that obese children in grades three through six are more likely to be bullied than children of normal weight. Teen suicide due to bullying – an absolutely horrifying thought – has tragically been in the news a great deal, raising awareness of the psychological impact of constant harassment. Now we discover that it begins at an early age, with overweight children as the primary target.

Based on my own memories, I didn’t find this to be news. However, I had assumed, or maybe naively hoped, that things had changed. Not so, as researchers at the University of Michigan surveyed over 800 children ages eight to 11. In the third grade, 15 percent of the children were overweight and 17 percent were obese. A quarter of the students admitted to being bullied; with 45 percent of the mothers reporting that her child had been bullied for his or her weight. The odds of being bullied were 63 percent higher for children who were obese than their classmates of normal weight, and bullies did not discriminate based on gender or economic status. Overweight boys were just as likely as girls to be bullied, and even those with good social skills weren’t spared.

“I thought maybe (good social skills) would protect obese kids from being bullied. But no matter how we ran and re-ran the analysis, the link between being obese and being bullied remained,” said Dr. Julie Lumeng, lead researcher. She is concerned that the perception surrounding obesity is that it’s caused by a lack of exercise and overeating when the underlying condition is often driven by other factors. “Many times, children who are not good at dealing with their emotions become emotional eaters,” she explained, noting, “we really need to work on changing this view of what causes obesity.”

My first response to this story was sadness, bringing me back to my own early days. The study suggested that we not only need to encourage healthy eating habits for young children but also need to set a good example by refraining from making negative comments about people who are overweight. Children, of course, are mirrors of us and they pick up our attitude, which results in bullying behavior. In effect, we indirectly teach our children to bully.

However, there is a bigger picture. We need to remember that each and every person has habits about which he or she is not proud. The difference is that if over-eating is the habit, it cannot be hidden. It is on display for all to view.

Smoke too much but hide well? No one knows. Have trouble with anger management but it doesn’t leak into public? We won’t judge you. Yet, eat too many fries and not exercise enough, and everyone’s got a comment. However, that’s not the case. For some children, exercise can be difficult. It’s believed that around 80% of people could have a medical condition where the legs don’t grow to the same length. Whilst this is a minor problem for some people, others find it extremely difficult to participate in exercise and other active tasks. Due to this, it’s been said that there could be a link between obesity and leg misalignment. Whilst this might not be so common, there could be children who are struggling due to this. If that’s the case, it might be worth looking into treatments, like the one from the MCCOSS. If legs can be realigned, it might make it easier for children to take part in sports, improving their lifestyle and reducing their bullying. If we each paid a little more attention to our own issues, we’d all be happier and healthier.

Maybe, when I’ve achieved complete perfection, I can judge others. However, I don’t see that happening soon.

Related

Filed Under: Diet, family, mental health, News, Newspaper Column Tagged With: anger, bullying, childhood obesity, lack of exercise, obese children, obese kids, overweight children, psychological impact, teen suicide, university of michigan

Comments

  1. ali says

    February 8, 2012 at 9:30 AM

    i know how the fat kids feel

    Reply
    • Scott "Q" Marcus says

      February 8, 2012 at 10:48 AM

      Thank you Ali for reading this post and for your comment. It’s a tough thing to be “fat kid;” I remember it well. Please stay in touch and continue to comment.

      Reply
  2. Sam Hoffman says

    January 15, 2013 at 10:21 AM

    The reason why I follow this webpage is since I’m sure you really do commonly give a moderately unique inclination on issues to numerous alternative web-sites so high five from me! ? !

    Reply
    • Scott "Q" Marcus says

      January 15, 2013 at 10:29 AM

      Thank you Sam. Please pass along the site to others.

      Reply
  3. Kristina V says

    April 22, 2013 at 7:42 PM

    Im constantly teased for it. Thanks for this article.

    Reply
    • Scott "Q" Marcus says

      April 22, 2013 at 8:57 PM

      I remember what this like. I assure you that if you don’t let them get the best of you and realize that your weight is no measure of who you are morally, it will make it easier. Thanks for reading – and commenting. Please stay in touch Krsitina.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Beat the bullies at Their Own Game : This Time I Mean It says:
    October 12, 2012 at 10:24 AM

    […] Editor’s note: For an additional take on bullying written by Scott, follow this link. […]

    Reply
  2. Anonymous says:
    May 10, 2013 at 10:59 AM

    […] | Why are fat people abused? Ashlynn Conner, 10, Allegedly Commits Suicide Because of Bullying Obese Children and Bullying : This Time I Mean It Family Says Teen Was Bullied Prior to Suicide What does fat discrimination look like? It is […]

    Reply
  3. Dear Mr. Abercrombie & Fitch, Beauty is Not Limited to Skinny » Lifetickler says:
    May 27, 2013 at 12:23 PM

    […] Obese Children and Bullying ↩ […]

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