A recent study found that overweight school-age children experience more distress due to teasing from their peers, particularly those with low social status within their groups. The research was published in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology.
Social status among children refers to their level of acceptance and popularity within their peer groups. This status is influenced by social skills, behavior, and physical characteristics. A child’s social status significantly impacts their self-esteem and peer relationships. High social status often leads to positive experiences and social support, while low social status can result in exclusion, bullying, and emotional difficulties.
Research indicates that athletic children often enjoy higher social status. Conversely, being overweight can negatively impact a child’s social standing. Children with low social status are more susceptible to teasing by their peers. When the teasing focuses on being overweight, these children are more likely to engage in emotional eating or exhibit disordered eating behaviors.
The study, led by Bobby K. Cheon and his colleagues, aimed to explore the relationships between a child’s social status, teasing experiences, body weight (measured by body mass index and fat mass index), and eating when not hungry. They hypothesized that the link between low social status, body weight, and eating when not hungry would be stronger in children who experience frequent teasing.
Participants were drawn from an ongoing longitudinal study initiated in 2015 by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). The study involved 115 children aged 8 to 17 from the Washington D.C. area, with data collected annually over six years. Of these participants, 28% were overweight or obese.
Children completed assessments on their perceived social and socioeconomic status (using the MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status – Youth Version), distress from teasing (using the Perception of Teasing Scale), and eating in the absence of hunger (using the 14-item Eating in the Absence of Hunger Questionnaire for Children). Parents also assessed their children’s tendency to eat when not hungry. Additionally, researchers gathered data to calculate body mass index and fat mass index.
The results revealed no significant differences in social or socioeconomic status between children who reported distress from teasing and those who did not. However, children who experienced more teasing distress tended to have higher body mass index (BMI), indicating a higher weight relative to their height. This link was particularly evident in children with low social status who experienced teasing distress.
Children with lower social status were also more likely to eat when not hungry, but this tendency was again only significant in those who experienced teasing distress.
“This analysis found a statistical interaction between SSS [subjective social status] and children’s experience of teasing distress on body composition and EAH [eating in the absence of hunger]. Low SSS was associated with greater BMI [body mass index], FMI [fat mass index], and EAH due to negative affect only when participants experienced teasing distress. Exposure to teasing distress was also independently associated with higher BMI, FMI, EAH due to negative affect, and EAH total score,” the study authors concluded.
This study highlights the complex interplay between teasing and social status in influencing eating behaviors among children. However, it is important to consider the study’s limitations, including the relatively small sample size and the inability to draw definitive cause-and-effect conclusions from the data.
The paper, “Lower subjective social status is associated with increased adiposity and self-reported eating in the absence of hunger due to negative affect among children reporting teasing distress,” was authored by Bobby K. Cheon, Meegan R. Smith, Julia M.P. Bittner, Lucy K. Loch, Hannah E. Haynes, Bess F. Bloomer, Jennifer A. Te-Vazquez, Andrea I. Bowling, Sheila M. Brady, Marian Tanofsky-Kraff, Kong Y. Chen, and Jack A. Yanovski.