Peer acceptance of obese youth: A way to improve weight control efforts?

Not all young people who are overweight are stigmatized, and most overweight youth have a small group of their own friends. Perceptions and attitudes of average weight youth toward overweight peers were investigated to learn how obesity might stigmatize adolescents. A qualitative approach was used to capture youth's attitudes in‐depth and to avoid “silly” responses to this sensitive topic. Youth (n = 56), ages 11–15 years, were paid $5.00 each upon completion of private interviews. Participants responded to open‐ended questions about how they defined overweight; characteristics of their overweight friends versus overweight youth they did not know; and the popularity of overweight adolescents. Code words and guidelines were developed using the grounded theory approach. Transcripts were coded and analyzed for common themes by codes using the Ethnograph software. Youth called “fat” were stigmatized; but “friends” and popular overweight youth were seen as friendly, pleasant to be around, helpful, good in sports and knew how to handle teasing.

Key words:

• Obesity
• adolescence
• weight control
• stigma
• youth