Parental concerns about weight-based victimization in youth.

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed to assess parental perceptions of weight-based victimization (WBV) and its consequences for children's health as well as how perceptions of WBV vary by parental and child weight status. METHODS: A national sample of American parents with children ages 2-18 years (N=918) completed an online questionnaire to assess their perceptions of how common WBV is, compared to other forms of victimization among youth, their level of concern with this issue both generally and for their own child, and their perceptions of behavioral and psychological consequences of WBV. Descriptive statistics and censored regression models with standardized coefficients were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Fifty-three percent of parents perceived "being overweight" to be the most common reason that youth are bullied, regardless of parental or child weight status. Parents, both with and without overweight children, endorsed similar levels of general concern about WBV and its psychological and behavioral consequences for youth. However, parents with overweight children were substantially more concerned about WBV affecting their child(ren) and perceived it to be more common, serious, and posed risks to their child(ren)'s health, compared to parents without overweight children. CONCLUSIONS: The present study, to the best of the authors' knowledge, is the first to indicate that parents have substantial concerns about WBV and its health consequences for youth. These findings highlight the need for educators and pediatric healthcare providers to be aware that WBV is a common concern among families, and suggest that increased efforts are needed to address WBV.

Headless, hungry, and unhealthy: a video content analysis of obese persons portrayed in online news.

The news media has substantial influence on public perceptions of social and health issues. This study conducted a video content analysis to examine portrayals of obese persons in online news reports about obesity. The authors downloaded online news videos about obesity (N = 371) from 5 major news websites and systematically coded visual portrayals of obese and nonobese adults and youth in these videos. The authors found that 65% of overweight/obese adults and 77% of overweight/obese youth were portrayed in a negative, stigmatizing manner across multiple obesity-related topics covered in online news videos. In particular, overweight/obese individuals were significantly more likely than were nonoverweight individuals to be portrayed as headless, with an unflattering emphasis on isolated body parts, from an unflattering rear view of their excess weight, eating unhealthy foods, engaging in sedentary behavior, and dressed in inappropriately fitting clothing. Nonoverweight individuals were significantly more likely to be portrayed positively. In conclusion, obese children and adults are frequently stigmatized in online news videos about obesity. These findings have important implications for public perceptions of obesity and obese persons and may reinforce negative societal weight bias.

Experiences of weight stigmatization: a review of self-report assessment measures.

BACKGROUND: Overweight and obese persons are vulnerable to frequent stigmatization and discrimination because of their weight. Despite widespread prejudice towards obese persons, many questions remain regarding the nature, extent, and impact of weight-based stigmatization experienced by so many people. However, improving our knowledge in this area will only be as good as the measures we have to study this phenomenon. Our paper is the first to provide a comprehensive summary of published quantitative self-report measures available for assessing experiences of weight stigmatization in children and adults. METHODS: This review examined 22 measures of self-reported weight stigmatization and highlights the strengths and limitations of existing assessment. RESULTS: Existing measures contain a number of limitations and have been assessed in samples lacking diversity. Improvements in measurement are needed to achieve a clearer understanding of the nature and extent of self-perceived weight stigmatization and to develop measures that accurately reflect this type of stigmatization. CONCLUSIONS: Specific directions for future research that will help improve measurement of self-perceived weight stigmatization and advance this area of study are highlighted.