NEW HAVEN, Conn. and NEW YORK — Two new reports note that students with food allergies and those going through weight-loss programs are more likely to be bullying targets.
A study conducted by Mount Sinai Medical Center, which analyzed surveys of 251 established food allergy patients, ages eight to 17, and their parents, found that 32% of children with food allergies reported bullying or harassment specifically related to their allergy, ABC New reports. Statistics also showed that the majority of bullies (80%) were classmates and most bullying happened at school (60%).
In the other study conducted by Yale University, which surveyed 361 youths between the ages 14 to 18 at two national weight-loss camps, 64% reported weight-related victimization by schoolmates, friends, coaches, teachers and parents. The most common form of bullying was verbal teasing (75% to 88%), followed by relational victimization (74% to 82%), cyber bullying (59% to 61%), and physical aggression (33% to 61%).
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