Obesity, a Risk Factor for Being Bullied

Bullying is a serious problem among school-aged children. Children and teens who are bullied may become depressed, and become so hopeless that they attempt to or successfully commit suicide. Several risk factors put a child at increased risk of being a target of bullying. These include being insecure, anxious, having low self-esteem, being socially isolated,, being part of a low-income family, being a minority, lacking social skills, and being physically weak (for boys). New research also suggests that obesity is a major risk factor for becoming the target of bullying.

Julie Lumeng, an assistant research scientist at the Center for Human Growth and Development, located at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and her colleagues conducted a study on the risk factors for being bullied. Previous research has shown that certain children, such as males and those who come from poor families, are at increased risk of being bullied. The authors of this study wanted to determine if obesity puts a child at increased risk for being bullied. According to Medscape, Dr. Lumeng said, "The main reason we were uncertain that there would be an association between obesity and bullying is that obesity is so much more common now - in some communities 1 out of 4 children is obese - so obese children are not really outliers anymore, which is why we asked is the association between obesity and bullying really true."

The study included 821 children who participated in the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. The participants were representative of the demographics in each of the 10 study sites across the United States. Children were assessed when they were in the third, fifth, and sixth grades.

Standard protocols were utilized to measure the kids' heights and weights in the third, fifth, and sixth grades during study visits. The kids also took a 23-item questionnaire while mothers and teaches filled out 45-item questionnaires. The researchers discovered that 14.6% of the children were overweight and 17.3% were obese in the third grade.

The researchers found that after other factors were controlled, obese children were 1.6 times as likely as normal-weight children to be bullied. Additionally, though it did not reach statistical significance, overweight children were 1.1 times as likely to be bullied as normal-weight children. Furthermore, obese children were at increased risk of being bullied no matter their race, socio-economic status, gender, social skills, or academic achievements.

Since obese children are at increased risk of being bullied, programs inside and outside of school need to be put into place to combat the problem. Bullying has become a serious issue in schools, and schools need to take action against the behavior. However, parents can also help their kids stay fit and healthy in a number of ways to prevent both the physical health and emotional problems that are associated with being overweight.

Care: Spend time with your child everyday doing something, like reading a book to him or her at night before sleep, asking your child about his or her day at school, helping him or her with homework, and so forth. Additionally, you can set aside some special time every week where you and your child do something enjoyable together such as window shopping, taking a walk together, going for a bike ride, bowling, or something else your child really enjoys. According to the University of Michigan Health System, kids who are not tended to by adults possess higher rates of obesity than those who are.

Encourage Physical Activity: Encourage your kids to do physical activities on a regular basis. Is your child good at basketball? Encourage him or her to join the school basketball team. Does your daughter like softball? Enroll her in a softball league in the Spring. Take a walk with your children at night when it's nice outside. Go swimming over the summer. Go to the park or playground. There are a lot of physical activities your kids may enjoy.

Model a Healthy Lifestyle: Children often copy the behaviors they see. Thus, modeling a healthy lifestyle will help prevent your child from becoming overweight. Eat healthy, balanced meals and get regular exercise. The University of Michigan Health System suggests not focusing on weight specifically, but rather on modeling and teaching your kids to live a healthy lifestyle. Developing healthy living habits early will help your kids incorporate these habits well into adulthood.

Plan Meal and Snack Times: The New York State Department of Health suggests scheduling meal and snack times and eating together as a family as often as you can. Additionally, offer a variety of healthy foods to your child for snacks. Let your child determine what and how much he or she eats for snacks and do not pressure your child to consume a specific amount. Allow your child to stop eating when he or she is full.

Bullying is a serious problem in schools today, and unfortunately, obese children are at increased risk of being bullied. By following these prevention recommendations and consulting with your child's doctor, you can actively prevent your child from becoming obese or help him or her lose weight in a healthy way if he or she is already overweight.

Sources:

National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center: Bullying Facts and Statistics:
http://www.safeyouth.org/scripts/faq/bullying.asp

Yahoo Health: Bullies Target Obese Kids:
http://health.yahoo.com/news/healthday/bulliestargetobesekids.html

Medscape: Obesity Makes Children A Target for Being Bullied:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/721233

University of Michigan Health System: How Parents Can Fight the Obesity Epidemic:
http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/fightobesity.htm

New York State Department of Health: Preventing Childhood Obesity: Tips for Parents:
http://www.health.state.ny.us/prevention/nutrition/resources/obparnts.htm