Study links teenage obesity to bullying

OVERWEIGHT adolescents are more likely to be victims of bullying — or become bullies — a study revealed yesterday.

The results, published in Pediatrics magazine, bolster evidence that being fat endangers emotional as well as physical health.

The study of 5,749 Canadian youngsters echoes British research and follows a US study published last year in which obese children rated their quality of life as low as young cancer patients' because of teasing and health problems.

The fact that overweight children face bullying is no great surprise, but the findings underscore the importance of enlisting teachers and schools in the fight against obesity in children, said Ian Janssen, from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.

"Anybody's who's ever been on a playground would know" that overweight children are among those who get picked on, Mr Janssen said, adding that in some cases, that may lead the youngsters to become bullies themselves.

Mr Janssen said obesity rates in Canadian children tripled from the 1980s to 1990s and show no signs of slowing. The trend mirrors that in other developed nations. In the US, 15% of school-age youngsters are overweight or obese.

The toll on emotional health is just as worrying, the researchers said.

"The social and psychological ramifications induced by the bullying-victimisation process may hinder the social development of overweight and obese youth, because adolescents are extremely reliant on peers for social support, identity and self-esteem," the researchers said.

Their data is based on a national survey of Canadian youngsters, aged 11 to 16, conducted in 2002.

Among youngsters of a normal weight, almost 11% said they were victims of bullying, compared with 14% of overweight youngsters and nearly 19% of obese youngsters.

About 8% of normal-weight children said they were involved in bullying, compared with 11% of overweight youngsters and 9% of the obese children.

Obese children were more than twice as likely to be victims of "relational" bullying being intentionally left out of social activities. Obese girls were about twice as likely to be physically bullied on a weekly basis.

Among obese boys, the risk was slightly lower, but still substantially higher than for boys of a normal weight.

Obese girls were more than five times more likely than normal-weight girls to physically bully other youngsters at least once weekly. Among boys, the risk of being physically aggressive was only slightly increased, but they were more than twice as likely to make fun of others.

Child psychologist Sylvia Rimm said reducing bullying could help youngsters overcome their weight problems. She warned that bullying victims often feel isolated and "the only thing left for overweight kids is food and television".