London : Children who are bullied in primary and secondary school are nearly twice as likely to be overweight at the age of 18 than non-bullied children, finds a study, says IANS.
The researchers analysed data on more than 2,000 children and assessed bullying victimisation in primary school and early secondary school through interviews with mothers and children at repeated assessments at the ages of seven, 10 and 12.
These associations were independent of other environmental risk factors (including socioeconomic status, food insecurity in the home, child maltreatment, low IQ and poor mental health).
In addition, and for the first time, analysis showed that children who were chronically bullied became overweight independent of their genetic risk of being overweight.
