Parents Should Choose the Words to Say to Kids About Obesity

Choosing the right kind of words to say to your kids about obesity is not only challenging, but can also be counterproductive, a recent study says.

The U.S. health officials are declaring childhood obesity a public health crisis. A study of 432,302 children ages 2 to 19 years in 2021 were discovered to have doubled on their rate of body mass index (BMI) during the COVID-19 pandemic as compared to pre-pandemic period. Further, the increase was most noticeable in overweight or obese children and younger school-aged children.

Thus, it is crucial for parents to open up conversations with their children about weight and health. However, it should not be just any conversation. Parents need to be careful in choosing the right words and creating a safe place for their children not to get hurt or be ashamed.

"I think a lot of parents have positive intentions when it comes to talking about their child's weight. They want their child to be healthy. They want their adolescent to feel good about their body size, but sometimes the way that they communicate can come across as being critical or judgmental or using words that really make them feel bad about themselves," Rebecca Puhl, lead author of the recent research released last November 21 of this year and deputy director of the University of Connecticut Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health stated.

The right terms to use

Puhl further emphasized that body weight is a very sensitive issue, especially for adolescents, and the way parents talk about it to their children matters.

The recent study entitled "Patient and Family Perspectives on Terms for Obesity," looked into what words these adolescents feel more comfortable in using when discussing weight and identified the language that will not lead them to feel stigmatized, blamed or shamed.

Researchers reviewed 2021 survey data from more than 2 thousand kids aged between 10 to 17 and from more than 1,900 parents. Participants were then asked about 27 terms and phrases that can be used to describe body weight.

It was found that teens felt the most negative emotions toward the terms "overweight," "fat" and "extremely obese." More than one-third of them expressed that they feel embarrassed, ashamed and sad when their parents use these words.

The study also suggested that parents should "tread lightly" when talking about weight to a daughter. Girls were reported to feel more negative emotions in response to terms used about weight as compared to boys.

The youth's most preferred terms were "healthy weight" and "normal weight." Moreover, it was also discovered that preferred terminology depended on race and identity. Black and Hispanic kids favored the words "thick" and "curvy."

Read Also: Child Obesity Study Reveals Links To Impulsiveness and Faster Eating

Shift from talking to modeling

According to Puhl, a lot of teens face "weight stigma." They experience teasing, stereotypes or victimization because of their body weight or size. And, sadly, some of the weight stigma happens at home from parents. She further stated that from stigma literature, when an individual is stigmatized about his/her weight, it can be damaging to one's health.

Weight stigma can cause emotional distress, increase symptoms of depression and lower body esteem. It can reduce physical activity while encouraging unhealthy behaviors, US News reported.

Almost half of the teens surveyed expressed that they do not want their parents discussing weight. They will be more willing to talk if they themselves bring it up first or their parents ask their permission to have the conversation.

In conclusion, the study recommended that parents shift the conversation to health instead of body weight. Even better, they can lose the talking and start modeling healthy behaviors instead, and opening opportunities to eat healthy food at home.

Puhl suggested that going for a walk and making dinner together as a family will be of great help.

She further encouraged parents to find ways to really engage in health behaviors, as there are a lot, to improve weight-concerned health without having to do the discussions and for a lesser risk of hurting and stigmatizing the kids.