Suggestions for Working with Fat Children in the Schools

Sandy McBrayer, the 1995 national teacher of the year, tells of visiting an elementary school that was proud of its ethnic diversity and the integration of many racial groups in the school's social milieu. The principal walked her to the newly built multipurpose "cafetorium" and ceremoniously pulled open the doors to reveal children of all colors and ethnicities eating, talking, and laughing together. As she entered, a contrasting scene near the door caught her eye. Separated from the rest of the student body were two obese children sitting at a table eating their lunch in silence, staring directly ahead. They were not laughing. They were not talking. They were just bringing their forks to their mouths and down again, trying to be inconspicuous and to finish quickly. This day they were too slow. As other children finished their meals and exited the cafetorium, they threw their uneaten food at the two children. The fat children appeared oblivious as food hit their table and slid to the floor or hit their hands and fell onto their plates. They just kept eating and staring directly ahead. They behaved as if they did not know what was happening or that there was no reason to react because it was a normal occurrence-and nobody was going to intervene on their behalf. The ridicule and torment of fat children by others is a story told again and again by fat children and by adults who were fat children. What effect does such ridicule-often accepted and endorsed by society-have on its young victims? How can educators and counselors intervene to support fat children? The purposes of this article are to create awareness of the issues faced by fat children in the schools and to provide strategies for meeting their social and emotional needs. The article begins with a review of literature on prejudice toward fat kids and its detrimental effects on their lives. Prevailing efforts to control children's eating habits and weight are then critiqued. The article concludes with suggestions that teachers and counselors can use to enhance all students' self-esteem and good health through self-acceptance and embracing diversity of body type. PREJUDICE AND ITS EFFECTS A review of the literature reveals that fat children are the target of prejudice, ridicule, and disgust by both their peers and the adults in their lives such as teachers, counselors, and parents. This is no small problem in schools since, according to the Centers for Disease Control (1994), 21% of people aged 12 tol9 years are overweight. As early as preschool age, children have accepted the stereotypes about and developed prejudice against fat people. Given the opportunity to play with fat or thin dolls, all children, even those who could correctly identify that the fat dolls looked more like them, preferred to play with thin dolls (Dyrenforth, Freeman & Wooley,1978; Rothblum,1992). Given pictures of children who were in a wheelchair, missing a limb, on crutches, facially disfigured, or obese, most children said they would least like to play with the fat child (Rothblum,1993). By elementary school, children are describing fat children as lazy, sloppy, dirty, stupid, and ugly (Levine,1987). Fat children are less likely than other children to receive "best friend" ratings from their classmates (Rothblum, 1992). When shown silhouettes of fat and thin males and females, 9-year-old children rated the fat figures as having significantly fewer friends, as less liked by their parents, doing less well at school, being less content with their appearance, and as wanting to be thinner (Hill & Silver,1995). A group of boys ages 6 to 10 rated fat children as most likely to be teased (Staffieri,1967). By adolescence, the subjective importance of physical appearance is particularly great among girls (Wadden & Stunkard, 1987). A longitudinal study of 1,000 high school students revealed that more than 50% of girls wanted smaller hips, thighs, and/or waists. …