Ilene Abramson, PhD
International estimates of overweight/obese youth currently approach 43 million, a figure expected to rise in the coming years. However, pertinent research overwhelmingly addresses physiological aspects of corpulence yet, by contrast, only modestly acknowledges concomitant emotional scars, especially those from bullying.
By definition, bullying is a cluster of actions encompassing name-calling, ridicule, social exclusion, and other forms of harassment instigated by classmates, instructors, and family members toward portly children and adolescents. The psychological effect of this phenomenon is tremendous, as evidenced by the derided student’s toxic coping mechanisms: dangerous crash diets, suicide ideation, and the victim becoming a bully himself.
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