Policy Actions to Address Weight‐Based Bullying and Eating Disorders in Schools: Views of Teachers and School Administrators

Abstract

Educators recognize weight-related bullying and eating disorders as problems in their schools that warrant improved prevention and intervention efforts at the policy level.

Eating Behaviors, Weight Bias, and Psychological Functioning in Multi-ethnic Low-income Adolescents

“…Future studies are needed to identify and evaluate community and school-based interventions to minimize WB and disordered eating. Research strongly supports the inclusion of content on prevention of eating disorders and WB in schoolbased curriculum (Aimé, LeBlanc, & Maïano, 2017;Puhl, Neumark-Sztainer, Austin, Suh, & Wakefield, 2016) and implementing school-based policies, with educators, school counselors, administrators, coaches, school nurses, parents, and students, to address weight bias (Puhl et al, 2016;Puhl, Neumark-Sztainer, Austin, Luedicke, & King, 2014) and disordered eating in schools (Neumark-Sztainer, Story, & Coller, 1999;Puhl et al, 2016;Yager & O'Dea, 2005).…”

Results of a strategic science study to inform policies targeting extreme thinness standards in the fashion industry

“…Participants were asked to indicate their perception of the impact on professional models of seven potential policy approaches, as well as their feasibility. The list of different policy approaches was developed by the authors after review the related literature and different policy proposals developed in the U.S. and abroad, and based on previous policy research methods (Puhl, Neumark‐Sztainer, Austin, Suh, & Wakefield, ; Puhl, Neumark‐Sztainer, Austin, Luedicke, & King, ). Feedback was solicited from a group of eating disorders experts at the Harvard T Chan School of Public Health.…”

Weight Bias and Stigma: Public Health Implications and Structural Solutions

“…In a survey of youth with overweight, over half (55%) reported that they would like teachers to intervene with instances of weight‐based bulling, and 44% reported the desire for PE teachers to intervene (Puhl, Peterson, & Luedicke, ). Educators report support for more training in bullying intervention as well (Puhl, Neumark‐Sztainer, et al., ). PE teachers in particular may benefit from training in this area, given that students are often bullied in PE class, and PE teachers report inconsistent responses to weight‐based bullying depending on student and teacher characteristics (such as gender; Peterson et al., ).…”

“…Despite the lack of weight-focused anti-bullying school policies, large-scale surveys of citizens in the United States, Canada, Iceland, and Australia suggest that public support for such programs is high across Western countries (Puhl, Latner, O'Brien, Luedicke, Forhan, et al, 2016). Stakeholders (persons with obesity, parents, and educators) also express strong support for school-based policies to prevent weightbased bullying (Puhl, Himmelstein, et al, 2017;Puhl, Neumark-Sztainer, Austin, Suh, & Wakefield, 2016;Puhl, Suh, et al, 2016). Additionally, public and parental support is strong for the use of litigation against schools that do not adequately intervene with weight-based bullying (Puhl, Luedicke, & King, 2015).…”