Stigmas against Overweight Children

One of the most significant consequences of being an overweight child is the stigmatization and discrimination he or she often faces at school, in playgroups and after-school activities, and, at times, in the home. Although the prevalence of overweight in children has increased greatly over the past three decades, the stigma of being overweight has been an enduring part of childhood and adolescence for much longer. This was first brought to light when Stephen A. Richardson and his colleagues set out to look at the stigmatization of handicaps and found that children stigmatized overweight children; they consistently ranked an overweight child as less desirable to befriend than a child with a broken leg, a child in a [Page 715]wheelchair, a child with a hand missing, and a child with a disfigured face. This study and finding has been replicated numerous times since the original 1961 study with children of different ages and of varying cultural backgrounds.

Sociologists and psychologists conceptualize stigma as the possession of a trait, either ascribed (from birth, such as race) or achieved (a trait someone acquires later in life). Overweight is a particularly complicated stigma because there is debate as to whether weight is an ascribed trait, such as from one's genes, or if it is an achieved trait that results from overeating and underexercising. Although researchers generally agree that it is both an ascribed and achieved trait, meaning that those with a genetic predisposition are more likely to suffer the consequences of overeating and underexercising, the general public tends to blame people for their weight, hence further stigmatizing them. There are numerous consequences for both adults and children who are stigmatized.

Bruce Link and Jo C. Phelan conceptualize stigma as a combination of being labeled, stereotyped, and separated from the rest of society, in addition to losing status, and being a victim of discrimination. Once a person is labeled as “fat,” he or she is also stereotyped as being lazy, sloppy, and ugly. This is particularly harmful for children who are in their formative years. Every experience a child has leaves a lasting effect because children are not as adept at compartmentalizing and rationalizing negative experiences as adults are. Moreover, children's self-concepts start to form at a very young age and they inevitably internalize the fat label and the stereotypes with which it is associated. Therefore, their confidence, sociability, and grades often suffer, leading overweight children onto a path of disadvantage and discrimination.

Recently, schools around the country have received attention for efforts they are making to reduce childhood overweight; however, they may inadvertently add to childhood stigma. Many of these efforts are innocuous efforts to increase physical activity for all children, such as “walking school buses” where children follow the school buses traditional route, picking up other children at various points, yet walk to school instead of bus to school. Other efforts, however, are more controversial and potentially harmful for children. For example, some schools have resorted to placing children's body mass indexes (BMI)—a ratio of weight in kilograms to height in meters squared—on their report cards. Other schools have taken this further by singling out children whose BMI is above the 95th percentile and sending letters to their parents telling them of their child's weight problem and/or inviting overweight and obese children to special fitness programs.

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