It’s not always their fault

By Michaela L.

 

Imagine you're sitting down, parents screaming at each other, your phone completely bare besides the few snarky comments about your weight. The only thing comforting you is the massive cake that you just demolished. You know you should stop, but it seems impossible with the surrounding stress, and food seems like your only friend; well, this is the reality for many children whether you notice it or not. Child obesity is a very conspicuous problem in America with 1 in 5 kids being classed as medically overweight. Usually, these kids aren’t all at fault and would do so much to change their appearance, yet people still believe they are the only person to blame for it.

44.4% is the percentage of obese kids that get called names because they look different from the people around them.  These names can be extremely painful to hear, especially at a young age, which is usually when bullying starts. These words can quickly turn into actions; studies show that 18.5% of obese kids were excluded from group activities. Teachers and guardians usually don’t hear a peep of what's happening because the child in question is too scared to speak out in fear of more bullying and maybe even worse bullying.  This means the kid has to struggle with all of the pressure on their own, which can lead to them making very bad decisions, including suicide, which is attempted by 27% of obese women and 13% of obese men.

          Bullying can cause children to have a self-image detrimental to their mental health; 51% of overweight kids said that if they went on a restricted diet that they would feel better about themselves. When they see their body there's a craving to change, and kids will take drastic measures to acquire this change. At least 6% of teenagers have a diagnosed eating disorder, but there are so many more undiagnosed eating disorders that are seen as a “healthy weight loss.” This is very common for obese children.  A 16-year-old boy lost half of his body weight, and instead of his doctors and family being concerned, they celebrated. His actions got overlooked by doctors and even his own parents because his weight has disappeared like a miracle. Of course, this was no miracle, it was a disorder that somehow went invisible. This isn’t the only case of this dreary situation, and families encouraging this behavior can be debilitating for their children.

Encouraging eating disorder behavior isn’t the only thing that families contribute to child obesity. Parents fighting, siblings screaming, vases shattering; even though this sounds terrible, this scene isn’t uncommon at all and can leave kids feeling extremely alone. To help with this melancholy feeling, kids might use food as a stress reliever, sometimes even a friend. Of course, when this happens daily, the kids tend to gain a bit of weight (especially if they live in a socioeconomically unwell area where healthy food isn’t common), and now the family is projecting anger towards them, which makes the situation even worse.

Obesity is a very obvious problem, especially in America, but just because you see the popular shows ‘My Strange Addiction’ or ‘My 600lb Life’ doesn’t mean this is the life of every overweight person. Many kids go through a lot, whether it's outside in society or in the ‘comfort’ of their own home. Along with obesity, bullying is also a major problem. Obese children often can’t control their appearance, yet people still decide to pick on them regardless. If you see this happening in your own life, maybe think about what the bogarted child might be going through and intervene. You never know how it might rebound and bring positive changes into your own life.