Overweight Children at Higher Risk of Bullying

Overweight children are more likely to be bullied by those they trust, including teachers and parents, a new study says.

Researchers at the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University looked at 361 teens undergoing weight-loss treatment. Lead author Rebecca Puhl and colleagues interviewed the participants about any incidence of bullying they experienced due to their overweight status.

A significant number of heavy teens were found becoming victims of verbal teasing, relational victimization (isolated by peers), cyberbullying and physical aggression from their peers and adults they trusted or those who were close to them like parents and teachers. Some teens were found to be experiencing bullying for one year, and others for more than five years.

Though peers and friends stood first in teasing and bullying the heavy teens, researchers found physical education teachers and sports coaches (42 percent), classroom teachers (27 percent) and parents (37 percent) also engaging in such activities.

"While our findings suggest that teasing and bullying may be inevitable for the heaviest youth, it is striking that even formerly overweight youth who have lost weight and whose body weight is now considered healthy may still be vulnerable to weight-based victimization," Puhl, the Rudd Center's director of research, said in a news release. "It's also concerning that over a third of adolescents reported weight-based victimization from parents. These findings highlight the need for parental education so that parents can use more sensitive and supportive strategies when talking about weight-related health with their child."

The study is published online in the journal Pediatrics.

The findings come at a time when approximately 12.5 million young children and teens are affected by obesity problems in the U.S. and about 70 percent of middle and high school students become victims of bullying every year.