Is Weight Bias Evident in Peer Interactions Between Young and Older Children?

Abstract

Objective This study aimed to investigate whether weight bias is apparent in young and older children’s interactions during a paired reading activity. Methods One hundred seventy‐two children (57% girls) read a book in which the main character, “Alfie,” was portrayed either as average weight or as having obesity. Younger children (mean = 6.1 years) were paired with a same‐sex older child (mean = 9.5 years). Questions within and at the end of the story prompted discussion. Children’s conversations were analyzed according to valence (emotional tone). Nonverbal behavior was noted via observation. Results Pairs of children reading about the Alfie character with obesity made significantly more negative and fewer positive comments when offering story completions. Just one pair of boys spoke about him being “fat.” There was no evidence that older children passed negative attitudes to younger children. Covertly expressed weight bias was more common. There was more frequent laughter while reading about the character with obesity, and two pairs made nonverbal reference to Alfie’s appearance. Conclusions Covert weight bias was apparent in the interactions of some of these children, but overt weight bias was rare. There is a need to establish a better chronology of children’s awareness of, and attitudes toward, obesity and how they are acquired.

Young children's choices and thoughts about pro‐social behaviour towards others with overweight

“…11,13,25 This was also true in our study of peer interactions, in which after reading a story featuring a character with overweight, only one of 45 pairs of older and young primary-age children spoke about him 'being fat'. 22 The general picture, therefore, is of younger children preferring normally represented body shapes over those that are different, that is, overweight or with a disability, 26 but not providing verbal justifications in the ways observed in older children and adults.…”

“…18 A focus on pro-social behaviour is critical to gaining a more balanced account of weight bias. distinctive [20][21][22] ; it recognizes that young children experience events and situations differently from older children and adults, and respects their reasoning. 37 It also throws light on individual differences-we focused on the emotional valence of what they told us and not just on the content, and looked at these children as individuals and not simply as a group.…”

“…Importantly, weight bias was explicit in a very small minority of children, something consistent with previous observations. 21,22 In terms of limitations, there was only one child in the study with a lived experience of overweight or obesity. Children with obesity are generally missing contributors to this literature.…”

“…It featured professionally illustrated child characters that were used in previous studies. 14,[20][21][22] Two characters were of average weight ('Holly' and 'Thomas') and two were overweight ('Alfina' and 'Alfie'). The story was set in a school and involved the characters making pictures in the classroom.…”

Revisión sobre el acoso con relación al peso: mecanismos e impacto psicosocial en la infancia y adolescencia

“…No obstante, la evidencia científica ha de tomarse con precaución, ya que los estudios disponibles en torno a las diferencias por género todavía son limitados. Los medios de comunicación, la familia y el grupo de iguales actúan como poderosas formas de transmisión de los ideales de belleza , y por ende, de los prejuicios con relación al peso (17). Por ejemplo, los dibujos animados y las películas populares infantiles muestran de forma estereotipada a las personas con obesidad (18).…”