Overweight Kids Often Suffer Socially.
A new study has found that overweight kids are excluded and ostracized by classmates more often than their thinner peers. Researchers examined the friendship dynamics of over 500 preteens and found that those who were overweight or obese were 1.7 times more likely to be disliked by their peers and 1.2 times more likely to dislike their peers. Study author Dr. Kayla de la Haye writes, “We consistently find overweight kids are ostracized by their peers, which plays out over middle school and high school to the point where they’re pushed to the periphery of these big social groups… We really need to take this seriously… Experiencing stigma has such big implications for these kids, impacting their social development and mental health, and probably their physical health.”
PLOS One, June 2017