The Relationship of Obesity and Weight Gain to Childhood Teasing

This article examines the relationship between weight gain and childhood teasing in children.  Anthropometric  data and self-reported teasing experiences were collected on a sample of second and third graders at a local elementary school in a disadvantaged suburban community. The study model uses bio-ecological development theory in which child development is understood in context: the child's physical characteristics influence the social environment, which interact and influence the behaviors that result in physical development and characteristics such as weight gain. Results suggest that teasing influences BMI change and that the relationship is more complex than simply stating that obese children are teased.