Study: Children Very Sensitive to Words Parents Use to Describe Their Weight

One out of five youth are affected by obesity in the U.S., which means many families are talking about weight and so are pediatricians. A new study, “Patient and Family Perspectives on Terms for Obesity,” in the December 2022 Pediatrics (published online Nov. 21) found that the words parents choose when talking to children and teenagers about obesity matter. Researchers collected online survey data from 2,032 young people, ages 10-17, and 1,936 parents in 2021 about a list of 27 different terms and phrases—from thick, chubby, skinny and fat, to many others—parents often use to describe body weight and how children and teenagers felt about them. The terms “overweight,” “fat” and “extremely obese” elicited the most negative emotions, with over a third reporting embarrassment, shame, and sadness when their parents used these words to talk about their weight. Girls reported more negative emotions in response to weight terminology than boys, but youth weight status—if they had obesity or not—did not impact how young people felt about these words. The most preferred terms overall were “healthy weight” and “normal weight,” but the terms that the youth most favored were impacted by race and identity, such as “thick” and “curvy,” which were more favored by Hispanic and Black youth. Researchers concluded that respecting children’s language preferences may aid in positive communication between parents and their kids when talking about weight-related health.

###

The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.