Amy L. Fielden et al. a sense of caution was attached to following healthier behaviours. *: Yeah like Wayne Rooney. I: And why is he fit? *: Cos he’s good at footballing. I: Do you think that they have to eat special food? *: Yes I: And what special food do they have to eat? *: Bananas and apples. *: Actually you can put weight on running cos muscle weighs more than fat so you can put weight on*like Katie Price she put on 10 pounds cos she started running. Boys reception Girls year 6 Another interesting aspect of the notion of role models’ is that the girls were more concerned with how they appeared in a physical sense; it was particularly striking that the Year 6 boys identified unhealthy behaviour in their female peers attributing this to a desire to be like models. *: Yes, she wants to be a model so she starves herself, her mam gives her a big packed lunch and she puts most of it in the bin, she’s like that skinny then she walks out of the dinner hall. Boys year 6 There were many aspects of the transcript that highlighted participants were aware that being un- derweight was as worrying as being overweight. However, across the board they were far more critical of individuals who were overweight and discussed wide ranging consequences for these individuals, this leads on to the next theme evident in the analysis. Fat is bad There was a united consensus that being fat was something to avoid, that it was a bad thing, and had typically negative consequences. Elements of this theme have been demonstrated throughout the discussion of the previous two themes; however, this illustrates how their understanding impacts on their attitudes toward obesity. *: Like all the fat goes through your blood and stuff. *: Like sugar, like all the sugar goes through your blood if you eat too much of it would clog up your arteries and you might die. Boys year 6 8 (page number not for citation purpose) I: Like how? What would happen to you? Is something going to happen straight away or is it something that’s going to happen to. *: You would get rotten teeth and you would not be as strong as you would be if you ate healthy and stuff. *: You could die. *: Because fat would be horrible. *: Because it’s bad for you, because it looks bad. *: Because people call you big fat. Girls reception Girls year 6 In addition to the health issues and those relating to physical attractiveness were the issues of bullying and social exclusion, which seemed to play a big role in the children’s understandings of what it would be like to be overweight. The stigma attached to being overweight is evident as participants often started giggling when talking about people being over- weight. I: Is it important to eat things that are good for you? *: Laughter I: What do you think happens to you if you eat lots of these biscuits? *: Fat I: And what good would stop you from getting fat, or would help you not be fat? *: Giggling Boys reception Inability to have a successful career and even death were understood to be the results of obesity. Participants felt people who were overweight were in some way bad or an embarrassment. There was even a sense of fear toward people who they considered overweight, indicating that they would avoid being seen with somebody who was obese. I: So . . . so what do you think about being fat, like if you see somebody in the street who looks like they are not very healthy do you think? *: They can’t do much, like most of the things you want to do in life, like swimming, jogging. *: Jobs when you grow older. *: Like if my parents were proper massive and I went to the town with them I would just say they took me to the town and I don’t know them. Girls year 6 Boys year 6 Citation: Int J Qualitative Stud Health Well-being 2011; 6: 7170 - DOI: 10.3402/qhw.v6i3.7170