UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health

When treating a child with high body weight, it’s important to provide
parents with appropriate information and to address the topic of weight with
sensitivity. This handout includes tips for how providers can have effective conversations with parents.

If you are being bullied about your weight, you may be tempted to try to lose weight to make the bullying stop. But it is important to remember that unhealthy eating habits like starving, bingeing, purging or fad dieting are dangerous and can be very harmful to your health. Taking extreme measures to lose weight, often leads to weight regain and a cycle of unhealthy eating – it’s just not worth it. Instead, channel your efforts to take action against bullying and find positive ways to take care of your health. Here are some tips.

Sugary drink consumption by children and teens is a significant public health concern, with teens and young adults consuming more sugary drinks than other age groups. Consumption is also higher among low-income and Black non-Hispanic and Mexican-American youth, raising additional concerns about health disparities affecting low-income and communities of color. In recent years, youth consumption of regular soda and sugary drinks in total have declined, but sports drink and energy drink consumption has increased.23 Beverage companies have pledged to reduce beverage calories and increase demand for lower-calorie drinks. This study examines whether companies have changed their advertising of sugary drinks in response to public health concerns.

91% of LGBTQ adolescents in a US survey report at least one experience of bias-based bullying, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine by researchers at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at the University of Connecticut. This number is more than double estimates from previous studies with predominantly heterosexual youth. The study reports findings from the LGBTQ National Teen Survey, a comprehensive survey conducted in partnership with the Human Rights Campaign to assess victimization, health behaviors, family relationships, and experiences of LGBTQ adolescents across the United States.

Visiting your doctor can sometimes be difficult or uncomfortable when you have a high body weight. Discussing your concerns with your doctor can help him or her learn how to make your visits more comfortable and productive. You may find it useful to answer the following questions, and then give this sheet to your doctor at your next appointment.

What should you do if you feel that you have been treated unfairly because of your weight by a doctor, nurse, or other health care provider? If you have experienced inappropriate negative attitudes, verbal comments, or other unfair actions due to your weight by a health care provider, there are several options to consider.

This handout includes validated measures used to assess weight bias, which may be used for self-assessment or in group training sessions to initiate discussions about weight bias in clinical practice. This is not an exhaustive list.

This handout for healthcare providers goes through certain patient-provider scenarios and how to have appropriate conversations to address your patient’s experiences.

It can be difficult to know what to do as a parent if your child is being teased or bullied because of his or her weight. Many parents feel so badly for their child that they either avoid discussing the issue or they become overprotective. Before talking to your child, it can be helpful to acknowledge how uncomfortable and difficult it can be for you as a parent to address this issue. Despite the difficulty of the situation, parents need to talk to their child about the problem. This handout provides tips to do so.

Many of the negative stereotypes about people with high body weight stem from myths surrounding body weight and weight loss. The first step to discussing weight bias in a way that is fruitful is knowing how to successfully identify and dispel these myths. This handout contains common weight bias myths and how to respond to them.