Big and Bullied

There's an article on cnn.com today that I thought would serve as an interesting topic of conversation. It can be viewed here: http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/05/03/obesity.bullying/index.html?hpt=C2



I don't think there's enough of an emphasis on the emotional detriment of childhood obesity. There is some light being shed on the psychological damage being overweight causes but usually you hear about the physical; heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer and various other ailments. The truth is being overweight, especially being obese, downgrades all aspects of our quality of life, including social life, and doctors and scientists are taking notice. They're proving this from every angle imaginable, the newest of which is bullying. As someone who has lived through an obese childhood, it's not surprising to hear that obese kids are more likely to be bullied. And while it is disheartening, it only further proves we need to take notice and do something about it.



Unhealthy eating isn't about the food, it's about the emotions that surround our eating. It's about the unhealthy relationship we develop with food. So, before we can put the donut down, we need to learn why we picked it up in the first place. This is especially crucial to understand at a young age, when minds are still learning and developing emotional habits. Long-term learned behaviors are exceptionally difficult to alter as time trudges on. And because young minds and emotions are exceptionally sensitive, it's an exponentially more painful process to go through. Adding bullying to the sensory overload of poor body image, depression and isolation is more than any child, thick or thin, should have to bear.

In the interest of full disclosure I don't recall much bullying when I was a child, not that I was never bullied, but that I remember other emotional issues as more pressing. I do think the article makes some accurate observations about parenting elements that can curb or promote both bullying and being bullied. Certainly both school and home environments play a large role in the bully factor. Ultimately though, it's one more element in an obese child's life that causes suffering and, in my opinion, one more reason we should be working harder to fight childhood obesity.