Even though we have seen recent pushbacks against shaming people for the way they look, it seems to be a problem with ever-growing consequences. fat shaming – humiliating a person because of their weight – unfortunately, seems to be a growing pastime in America. These days, even the President of the United States is a well-known participant in making people feel bad for not being thin. Research now suggests that teasing people because they don't live up to unrealistic body expectations is causing eating disorders, poor body image, and a tendency to be extremely overweight.
Fat-Shamed Children Become Obese Adults
We've known that fat-shaming can be hard on overweight adults, but the news of what it does to children is shocking. iIn a recent University of Connecticut study, researchers conducted a study spanning 15 years that tracked a group of students starting in their teen years and lasting into their early 30s. This study analyzed the “behavioral, psychological, and socioenvironmental factors related to dietary intake and weight-related outcomes in adolescents,” and recorded information on how the adolescents were treated by peers and family in regards to their weight. The study began in 1999 and the results have recently come in.
1,830 of the projects original participants took a detailed survey in 2015 about their current condition.
The survey recorded they height and body weight to determine BMI as a measurement of obesity rates. It also asked for information on binge eating, dieting, fasting, and weight loss medication.
The study results showed that both men and women who experienced fat shaming as adolescents were two times as likely to suffer from obesity in adulthood than people who didn't experience teasing.
They were also more likely to hold a negative body image and use food to cope with emotional stress. Women who were teased were also more likely to have been on a diet in the last year, tried fasting, and taken diet pills.
Boys and girls are fat shamed differently
The study concludes that Boys And Girls react differently to different sources of fat shaming.
Girls reported to have been teased at home more than boys did, and the impact from family fat shaming seems to hit hard. Boys responded more to being teased by their peers and didn't carry negative effects of being teased at home into adulthood.
There is an unfortunate but very clear message here: Fat shaming children – both at school and home – causes lifelong damage, and needs to be taken seriously.