Few Friends for Overweight Kids

06/04/2014

Few Friends for Overweight Kids

We walk up the beach under the stars. And when we are tired of walking, we lie flat on the sand under a bowl of stars.... They pour into us until we are filled with stars, up to the brim.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh

"If getting picked last for the dodge ball team in PE class seems upsetting, try getting picked last as a friend. Studies since 1961 have shown that obese children are consistently ranked last by their peers when evaluating image lineups of potential friends." This observation was made by Merrill Weber in her article, "Kids Shy Away from Fat Friends," in Pacific Standard magazine.

"In a study published this month in the American Journal of Public Health, researchers dove further into the psychologically traumatizing world of middle school and high school friendships. Stepping away from the use of two-dimensional images for social analysis, Arizona State University associate professors David R. Schaefer and Sandra D. Simpkins relied on students’ reports of their actual interactions and health data to evaluate the social dynamics between individuals considered 'fat' and 'thin.' They discovered even more evidence that overweight kids have an unusually difficult time finding friends."

Contributed by Zvia Dover

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