Weight-Based Shaming, Not BMI, May Cause Kids' Distress

Weight-related discrimination in sixth grade can lead to emotional problems by the end of middle school, according to an analysis of data from a longitudinal study.

Among more than 5,000 youths (52% girls), one-third reported at least one weight-related discriminatory experience by seventh grade, and it was that disrespectful and exclusionary behavior, rather than body mass index, that predicted body dissatisfaction, social anxiety, and loneliness by eighth grade, reported Jaana Juvonen, PhD, at the University of California Los Angeles, and colleagues, in the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology.

http://www.medpagetoday.com/pediatrics/obesity/60238