School can be tough on kids who are overweight or obese. They're often cruelly teased and bullied. And this type of bullying may lead to long-term consequences, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Pediatric Obesity.
The study, conducted by researchers at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., found that making fun of kids for their weight is linked to increased weight gain well into adulthood — and the more teasing that kids and teens experience, the more weight they may gain.
"There's this school of thought that says [weight-based] teasing might have a motivating effect on youth," says study author Natasha Schvey, assistant professor of medical and clinical psychology at the Uniformed Services University. "This study shows that that's not only not true but that teasing might increase weight gain over time."
To assess the link between teasing and weight gain, the authors recruited 110 children and young teens (average age was about 12 years) who were either overweight themselves or who had two parents with overweight. Having parents with overweight classifies children as at risk for being affected by overweight or obesity later in life.
During their first visit, the kids were asked to report whether they had been made fun of based on their size. Among participants with overweight,62% reported they had been teased about their weight at least once, while 21% of straight-size, at-risk participants reported they had been.
The researchers followed up with these kids for an average of 8.5 years, some for up to 15 years.
Whether they had overweight at the study's start or not, those who reported being teased often for their weight gained 33% more body mass, on average, and 91% more fat per year than their peers who weren't teased.
Schvey cautions that the study was observational and could not directly determine cause and effect. "But we can say weight-based teasing was significantly linked with weight gain over time," she says.
Other research has shown that the stigma associated with overweight or obesity contributes substantially to negative health effects, including increased body dissatisfaction, which may lead to unhealthy coping mechanisms like binge eating.
Teasing can also lead to increased levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which can stimulate appetite, and increase risk for depression and anxiety — both of which contribute to disordered eating.It also may drive kids away from physical activities like sports and gym classes, where they risk getting made fun of for their size.