Recent research into childhood obesity highlights the condition’s complexity—its close connections to hunger, poverty, food deserts and socioeconomic status. A new University of Houston study focuses on one seemingly minor but potentially damaging social behavior: peer teasing about weight. The study shows how teasing can shape a young girl’s relationship with her body and with food, sometimes triggering unhealthy eating patterns.
Norma Olvera, a health educator at the University of Houston College of Education, led the study examining how teasing affects minority adolescent girls and whether it predicts disordered eating behaviors. Olvera identifies two key reasons for this research: minority girls face higher obesity risk, which can intensify a desire to be thinner and increase the likelihood of unhealthy eating behaviors; and there is relatively little research specifically addressing these issues in Hispanic and African American girls.
Olvera’s team surveyed 135 girls with an average age of about 11 years. All participants showed high body fat, with 81 percent meeting criteria for obesity. Nearly all the girls reported dissatisfaction with their body size and a desire to be thinner. When peer-weight teasing occurred in this context, the study found it was associated with an increased likelihood of disordered eating behaviors.
“Weight status may be a more sensitive issue for children who are overweight or obese,” Olvera said. “Being teased about weight can provoke a stronger emotional response and greater risk for unhealthy coping strategies in these children than in those who are not overweight.” The study’s findings are published in the Journal of Early Adolescence.
The girls answered questions about weight-related teasing from peers—both girls and boys—and about how they reacted to that teasing. More than half of the respondents reported being teased about their weight by other girls, and six in ten reported teasing by boys. In some cases, teasing also came from siblings.
Among the findings: 70 percent of girls reported engaging in weight-control behaviors such as skipping or cutting back on meals, dieting or extreme food restriction to become thinner. Twelve percent reported episodes of binge eating followed by purging behaviors (feeling unable to stop eating and then forcing themselves to vomit). Thirty-three percent described emotional eating—eating more or less in response to boredom, sadness or stress—which they linked to being teased about their weight. These patterns—collectively described as disordered eating behaviors—can have immediate emotional effects and may contribute to longer-term physical and mental health problems.
Olvera emphasized that the results can help guide health educators, clinicians and school-based professionals in designing interventions that teach coping strategies for children who experience peer-weight teasing. Interventions might focus on building resilience, promoting healthy coping mechanisms, and fostering positive body image. The findings also support policies that discourage weight-related teasing and stigmatizing behavior, particularly in school settings where peer interactions shape social and emotional development.
Olvera is a fellow of The Obesity Society, an organization committed to advancing research, prevention and treatment of obesity. She also founded and directs the BOUNCE program (Behavior Opportunities Uniting Nutrition Counseling and Education), a summer initiative for minority adolescent girls that aims to empower participants and their families to adopt healthier lifestyles and stronger self-esteem.
Source: Marisa Ramirez – University of Houston
Image Source: The image is in the public domain
Original Research: Abstract for “Pathways for Disordered Eating Behaviors in Minority Girls: The Role of Adiposity, Peer Weight-Related Teasing, and Desire to Be Thinner” by Norma Olvera, Kendall McCarley, Molly R. Matthews-Ewald, Felicia Fisher, Martinque Jones, and Erika G. Flynn in Journal of Early Adolescence. Published online October 4, 2015. doi:10.1177/0272431615609155
Abstract
Pathways for Disordered Eating Behaviors in Minority Girls: The Role of Adiposity, Peer Weight-Related Teasing, and Desire to Be Thinner
This study examined how biological, psychological and sociocultural factors interact to predict disordered eating behaviors among girls with overweight or obesity. A total of 135 Hispanic and African American girls (mean age = 11.13 ± 1.54 years) completed surveys assessing their desire to be thinner, experiences of peer weight-related teasing, disordered eating behaviors and demographic characteristics. Percent body fat was measured for each participant. Structural equation modeling tested how the desire to be thinner and peer weight-related teasing influenced percent body fat and disordered eating behaviors. The results showed that percent body fat was directly associated with the desire to be thinner (p < .01) and with peer weight-related teasing (p < .01). Percent body fat was indirectly related to disordered eating behaviors through its relationship with peer teasing (p < .05). These findings can inform the development of interventions aimed at preventing disordered eating behaviors in minority girls by addressing both body composition concerns and the social context of peer teasing.