Childhood victims of bullying have nearly double the risk of being overweight at 18 years of age compared to non-bullied children, according to a new study by researchers at King’s College London.
“Bullying is commonly associated with mental health problems, but there is little research examining the physical health of bullied children,” said Dr. Andrea Danese at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London.
“Our study shows that bullied children are more likely to be overweight as young adults, and that they become overweight independent of their genetic liability and after experiencing victimisation.”
Earlier research by King’s College revealed that children who had been bullied while growing up in the 1960s were more likely to be obese at the age of 45, yet it remained unclear whether these long-term effects were present earlier in life.
[For more of this story, written by Traci Pedersen, go to http://psychcentral.com/news/2...g-adults/112433.html]
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