Citation

Nabors LA, Odar Stough C, Garr K, Merianos A. Pediatr Obes. 2019; 14(7): e12516.

Affiliation

Health Promotion and Education Program, School of Human Services, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, International Association for the Study of Obesity, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/ijpo.12516

PMID

30761770

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The current cross-sectional study examined whether children who are overweight experience greater levels of parent-reported bullying behaviors and victimization using a national sample. Additionally, the relations among child (mental health), family (parent-child sharing of information), and contextual factors (neighborhood safety, school engagement) and risk of victimization in children who are overweight were assessed.

METHODS: Caregivers provided data via the 2016 National Survey of Children's Health. A series of multinomial logistic regressions were conducted with the subsample of children aged 10 to 17 years (N = 26 094).

RESULTS: Youth who were overweight were more likely to be victimized, but not more likely to bully. Being engaged in school and neighborhood safety were protective factors among youth who were overweight, while living in families where information is shared and difficulty making friends were risk factors.

CONCLUSIONS: Children who were overweight were more likely to be victims, rather than perpetrators, of bullying. Health professionals should assess family and contextual factors in relation to victimization status when developing interventions.

© 2019 World Obesity Federation.

Language: en

Keywords

bullying; children; overweight; victimization