When I was younger, I was one of millions of kids who was bullied. I was bullied for my voice, for my clothes, for my haircut, for every choice I made and every choice I didn’t have. But the bullying I suffered from the most is the bullying that continues to affect young people in subsequent generations: I was bullied for my weight. And as it turns out, this has become a more common problem than ever.
Recently, the New York Times covered a new survey of 2,866 adults from different countries. This study revealed that children are bullied the most for their weight, beating out race, physical disability, and sexual orientation. An overwhelming SEVENTY PERCENT of participants identified weight-based bullying as a common problem.
Now that obesity is such a prevalent issue in the United States and other Western countries, it seems that attitudes have shifted so far towards fat stigma that, according to Dr. Puhl, a professor involved in the study, “there is a perception that these youth are somehow to blame for their weight and in some way deserve this treatment.”
And this bullying doesn’t just exist on the playground. The CDC reported that it’s common for families to make fun of overweight family members. Overweight girls get the brunt of this abuse, with nearly half of them reporting being picked on by their families. It's not restricted to childhood either. The study reported that obese people are paid less money than those who are not obese.
There’s bound to be an argument that bullying may be helpful to motivate overweight children to lose weight. But studies have found that bullying has the opposite effect. In fact, they’re more likely to have unhealthy habits and behaviors because of it.
Is there a solution to this problem? It’s a delicate one, and it’s more complex than other forms of discrimination. There’s no law that protects overweight and obese people from discrimination, and there isn’t likely to be one any time soon. But maybe it’s time to re-evaluate health initiatives to make sure that efforts to treat and prevent obesity don’t discriminate against, stigmatize, or otherwise destroy the psyche of obese individuals In the process.
How did I deal with it? I spent my childhood and teenage years battling self-image issues, eating disorders, and psychological trauma. It’s only in the past few years that I started developing a healthy relationship with food and exercise. Bullying was not my way to physical health, and it certainly won’t be for any of these kids. It’s time to stop blaming them and start helping them.
