What educators can do to support inclusive and safe environments for all.
Did you know?
Weight-based stigmatization is the most common cause of bullying in schools1ï When children enter elementary school they have already been exposed to and adopted negative attitudes about people in larger bodies. Weight-based bullying occurs in primary grades and escalates by middle school. It can be severe, frequent, and upsetting and causes stronger emotional reactions than teasing for other reasons.
What is weight bias?
Weight bias refers to the beliefs, assumptions and judgments towards individuals based on their weight, shape, or size. Weight bias is a result of our conscious and unconscious thoughts, feelings and attitudes. It can affect people at all weights and can lead to treating people differently because of their size. People in larger bodies are often more negatively affected and experience stigma and discrimination.
Why should we reduce weight-based stereotypes and bias in schools?
Weight bias exists in the classroom, on the playground, and through interactions children have with adults and their peers. Students experiencing weight stigma are more likely to:
- Have poor body image and low self-esteem
- Have increased stress, depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts
- Suffer from bullying and harassment
- Experience social isolation
- Avoid physical activity and engage in unhealthy eating practices
- Be assessed differently in school compared to smaller bodied peers (e.g., receive lower grades for similar work)
- Poorer attendance and academic achievement
Reducing weight bias promotes positive body image and will improve student well-being and success.
What can we do to reduce weight bias and promote a positive body image?
1. Reflect on our own attitudes, beliefs and biases about body size and eating patterns
We all have weight bias; it would be surprising not to in our current culture. When we start to be aware of this bias, we might notice it in conversations or interactions with students and colleagues, including:
• Commenting on weight or weight loss of others (e.g., “you look great, you’ve lost weight!”)
• Promoting physical activity and eating well as a way to lose weight
• Admiring someone’s restraint with certain foods (e.g., “You are being so good not having any of that cake!”)
• Questioning whether or not a student needs a second serving at Breakfast Club
2. Reframe messages about food, activity, bodies and health
Children learn from the conversations they hear about food, activity, bodies and health from trusted adults. Focusing on weight can be detrimental to health. Gaining weight is a normal part of growth throughout childhood and adolescence. Focus on what bodies can do, not what they look like.
When teaching about food, activity and health:
3. Create a weight inclusive school environment
Educators can create a school that supports a child’s healthy growth and development, including positive mental health, by ensuring the classroom is an emotionally safe place to be.
- Promote positive body image for students of all shapes and sizes
- Reinforce that people come in diverse body shapes and sizes
- Redirect students away from a focus on weight and appearance when discussing the benefits of physical activity, eating well, and sleep
- Challenge students’ assumptions about people based on their weight or appearance to dispel weight-based stereotypes
- Address weight-based teasing and help students recognize the harm
- Foster an understanding of weight bias as an equity issue
- Teach students to critically assess media and cultural portrayals of bodies
- Never weigh students or have them calculate Body Mass Index (BMl)
Creating a supportive environment allows students to feel valued, respected and comfortable in their bodies and supports physical, mental and social well-being. Educators can reduce weight bias by reflecting on their own bias, positively framing messages, and addressing weight-based bullying. Educators have a unique opportunity to influence children and youth to develop positive relationships with food, activity, bodies and health.
For more information, contact your local public health unit.
