This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Young people who experience bullying because of their weight feel that their schools do not take the problem seriously enough. In some cases, they change their own behavior to avoid harassment, according to a new study from Lund University.
The interviews reveal how weight-based bullying shapes young people's everyday lives, self-image and relationships. At the same time, several participants felt that school interventions were directed at them rather than at the students doing the bullying. "It is important that schools signal who is doing something wrong and who needs to change their behavior, so that this is clear to the person being targeted.
The responsibility should not fall on the victim," says Kajsa Järvholm, a psychologist and associate professor at Lund University. The study is based on qualitative interviews with 13 adolescents ages 12–19 with obesity who had been subjected to weight-related bullying at school. Rather than measuring how common the problem is, the study provides an in-depth understanding of the young people's experiences and their views on how schools and society address the issue.
Previous international studies, however, show that weight is a common reason for bullying. The work is published in the journal Acta Paediatrica. The adolescents described both overt harassment and more subtle forms of mistreatment.
These included derogatory comments, social exclusion and physical aggression, but also looks, whispers and situations in which they felt others were laughing at them. A recurring theme was that adults at school did not intervene clearly enough. Some participants said their experiences were downplayed or that they were not believed.
Others were advised to avoid the situation or lose weight to stop the bullying. "Sometimes it can make a big difference when an adult simply acknowledges that what is happening is not OK and shows that the school takes it seriously," says Järvholm. When bullying continues and young people are expected to adjust their own behavior, they risk coming to see their bodies as the problem.
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