Session: Obesity in Adolescence: A Focus on Bullying, Media, and Stigma (Society for Prevention Research 25th Annual Meeting)

Obesity among youth has been steadily increasing, with 20.5% of adolescents (ages 12-19) classified as obese (Ogden, Carroll, Kit, & Flegal, 2014). Moreover, disparities exist in terms of race and ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Specifically, 22% of African American, 22.4% of Latino, and 14.3% of White youth and adolescents ages 2 to 19 are obese (Ogden, Carroll, Kit, & Flegal, 2014). Obesity in adolescence is a significant public health, not only because of the great number of youth affected, but also because of the long-term consequences associated with developing debilitating and costly chronic diseases (IOM, 2012). This symposium will present a series of papers focused on obesity in adolescence in relation to other contemporary issues affecting youth, including bullying and media.

Specifically, the first paper, “Obese and Overweight Youth: Risk for Experiencing Bullying Victimization and Internalizing Symptoms” will discuss how being overweight or obese may place youth at increased risk of being victimized. This paper examines the risk for experiencing internalizing symptoms (i.e. withdrawal, anxiety, and depression) among these youth. Results show obese and overweight youth are at an increased risk for experiencing most forms of victimization.

The second paper, “Contrasting Health-related and Socio-demographic Risks for Involvement in Bullying: Exploring the Link between Stigma and Victimization” will explore how affiliation with a typically stigmatized group (e.g. overweight, obese, low socioeconomic status) may be associated with involvement in bullying. Results suggest that obese youth had significantly higher odds of reporting being a victim of bullying as compared to non-obese youth.

Finally, the third paper, “Not Just Commercials, Media Influenced Body Image Ideals Among Black Adolescents” considers the role of body image and attractiveness in developing obesity intervention and prevention programs for youth. This paper uses mixed methods to examine television and print media content influence on African American youth perceptions of body image, identity, self-esteem, and racial socialization experiences. Study implications include integrating culturally relevant messages in obesity prevention programming for African American youth.

The discussant will highlight common themes across the three talks, including issues related to stigma and health in adolescents. Implications for selective and indicated prevention programs for stigmatized youth will be discussed.