Weight Perception and Bullying among Overweight and Obese Students (Age 6-16 Years) in Amritsar District

Childhood obesity is a serious global health crisis with serious and long-lasting consequences for children's physical and mental health. The persistence of obesity and accompanying health complications is partly due to parents' and children's misperceptions about their weight status. Furthermore, obesity is associated with increased bullying and negative social experiences among school-aged children.

The study aims to evaluate the self-perception of weight among overweight and obese students aged 6-16 years in Amritsar and to explore the relationship between obesity and bullying.

The Amritsar district was selected through the lottery method of simple random sampling for this cross-sectional study, which was carried out between October 2019 and April 2020. Out of 4226 students, 355 overweight and obese students were interviewed regarding their weight perceptions and social impact. After being fully informed of the study's goals and methods, guardians and students gave their written consent to take part. A predesigned, validated, semistructured questionnaire was used to interview mothers of students aged 6 to 11 and students aged 12 to 16. Statistical analysis was done using Chi-square and logistic regression tests.

70.7% received weight loss suggestions from family, with 39.4% from parents. Despite 52.1% attempting weight loss, many found it ineffective. Only 47.3% deemed school education on weight management sufficient. Notably, 53.2% reported their social life has been impacted negatively due to their weight, and 29.9% experienced sadness. Bullying was more prevalent among boys, with 72.9% reporting such experiences. Regression analysis indicated that obesity-related sadness and being aged 14-16 years increased odds of bullying.

Bullying is more prevalent in obese boys, and it is more likely to affect students of age group 14-16 years and those who are depressed about their weight. Many students and their mothers misperceive weight status. Improvements to school canteen food quality, nutrition seminars, and physical education programs are among the recommendations.