Children who were teased about being overweight are more likely to gain weight, suggests a new NIH study
Youth who said they were teased or ridiculed about their weight increased their body mass by 33 percent more each year. This is in comparison to a similar group who had not been teased, according to a new research published in the journal of Pediatric Obesity.
The findings appear to contradict the belief that such teasing might motivate youth to change their behavior and attempt to lose weight. The study was conducted at NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
The authors theorize that weight-associated stigma may have made youths more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviours, such as binge eating and avoiding exercise
The study involved 110 children with an average age of 11.8 years, 53% had overweight/obesity; 36% were non‐Hispanic Black and 55% were female. The participants were either overweight (defined as a body mass index above the 85th percentile) when they began the study or had two parents who were overweight or obese.
They completed a six-item questionnaire on whether they had been teased about their weight after enrollment. They then participated in annual followup visits for the next 15 years.
The researchers found that youth experiencing high levels of teasing experienced a 33% greater gain in BMI (an additional 0.20 kg/m2) and a 91% greater gain in fat mass (an additional 0.65 kg) per year compared with peers who reported no weight‐based teasing.
The authors theorize that weight-associated stigma may have made youths more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviours, such as binge eating and avoiding exercise. Another possible explanation is that the stress of being teased could stimulate the release of the hormone cortisol, which may lead to weight gain.
