Obese kids are more likely to be bullied

Published: May 03, 2020

A recently conducted study has revealed that obese children stand more chances of being bullied as compared to their healthier counterparts. According to www.reuters.com, obese children studying in the grade 3 to grade 6 have been found to be bullied by their healthier classmates irrespective of their academic performance, social skills, race or gender. The research called the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development has been conducted by a group of scientists at the University of Michigan. It involved about 821 young girls and boys falling in the age group of 8 to 11 years. The findings revealed that around 45 percent of these children reported to have been bullied by their trim peers. The study has been published in the recent issue of journal Pediatrics.

As reported by www.news.yahoo.com, bullying at a young age may result in serious mental and physical traumas which may leave long lasting impressions on the child. The study also revealed that the chances of being bullied were as high as 63 percent for an obese child as compared to the healthier counterparts. “With obesity affecting 1 in 5 to 1 in 6 kids in the US, parents can encourage schools to make sure that bullying related to obesity is targeted in intervention programs,” suggested Dr. Matthew Davis, one of the researchers.