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Studies Overweight children have fewer friends
Obesity is not only a risk to physical health, but also burdens the interpersonal relationships. For example, scientists have found in a recent study that overweight children are more likely to be excluded from friendships. At worst, this can lead to serious mental health problems in the affected children.
"In a survey of 504 teenagers in the Netherlands, researchers found that obese children are often excluded from friendships and even classmates as friends who do not reciprocate their sympathy," says the Association of Pediatricians (BVKJ) from the study results , Fat children and adolescents were often disliked by their classmates. The study was published in the journal "PLOS One".
Obese children are increasingly excluded from friendships and perceived as unsympathetic. (Image: kwanchaichaiudom / fotolia.com) Effects of body weight on social relationships
The research team led by study leader Prof. Kaya de la Haye from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC) has investigated in his recent study what impact bodyweight has on teenage social relationships. The researchers found that overweight children, on average, as many classmates of the category "friend" assigned as children with healthy weight. But they were 1.7 times more likely than their normal-weight peers, the rating "unsympathetic" and also distributed 1.2 times more often the rating "unsympathetic" among their peers.
Friendships of the overweight are often not reciprocated
The negative social interactions can significantly increase the risk of becoming lonely, depressive and developing bad eating habits in children, the BVKJ warns. These combined tendencies would indicate that "overweight children generally tend to have more unrequited friendships and so-called Frenemy relationships (Frenemy - word combination of Friend / Friend and Enemy / Enemy; friends who are actually enemies), explains Prof. Kaya de la Haye in a contribution of the journal "Science".
Obese are more often rated as unsympathetic
For the study, 504 teenagers between the ages of 10 and 12 completed questionnaires in which to list their enemies and friends. The subjects were from 28 school classes and an average of 26 students per class took part in the survey. The scientists assigned the children different weight classes based on their body mass index (BMI), with about 16 percent falling into the overweight category. On average, the children named five of their classmates as friends and two as enemies. However, the overweight children on average called only four classmates as a friend and they were rated by three classmates as unsympathetic. The overweight children tend to have fewer friends, and when they have friends, these are often similar to unpopular children, who also tend to be overweight, according to the study director.
Risk of social isolation
According to the researchers, the social environment, which is characterized by fewer friendships and more antipathies, may be associated with an increased risk of psychosocial mismatches for overweight adolescents. The result is an increased risk of social isolation, which in turn can promote unhealthy behaviors such as excessive food intake and low participation in physical and physical activity, leading to further weight gain. A vicious circle that is difficult to break.
Growing number of overweight children
Obesity in adolescence, according to the researchers, is accompanied by stigmatization, which can be extremely detrimental to the social relationships and mental health of those affected. The growing proportion of overweight children should also be assessed particularly critically against this background. Globally, the number of overweight children has risen by 31 percent over the past two decades, and in 2013, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 42 million children were affected by obesity, the researchers report. (Fp)