Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Jul;69(1):74-81.
doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.09.034. Epub 2020 Nov 9.

Parental Contributors to the Prevalence and Long-term Health Risks of Family Weight Teasing in Adolescence

Leah M Lessard  1 , Rebecca M Puhl  2 , Nicole Larson  3 , Melissa Simone  4 , Marla E Eisenberg  5 , Dianne Neumark-Sztainer  3
Affiliations

Parental Contributors to the Prevalence and Long-term Health Risks of Family Weight Teasing in Adolescence

Leah M Lessard et al. J Adolesc Health. 2021 Jul.

Abstract

Purpose: Weight teasing from family members is common during adolescence. However, little is known about parental factors that increase adolescents' risk for family weight teasing and its adverse health sequelae. Using multi-informant data from adolescents, mothers and fathers, the current longitudinal study examined how parental concerns about their child's weight and their own weight contribute to family weight teasing in adolescence and its long-term health consequences.

Methods: Data were collected in the population-based Project EAT 2010-2018 (Eating and Activity over Time) study, following a longitudinal cohort of young people (N = 2,793). Parental weight concerns for their adolescent and themselves were reported by mothers (N = 2,298) and fathers (N = 1,409) at baseline and examined as a predictor of family weight teasing in adolescence as well as a moderator of family weight teasing effects on health eight years later.

Results: Mothers' and fathers' concerns about their child's weight, as well as mothers' dieting frequency, increased the likelihood of adolescents experiencing family weight teasing. Longitudinal analyses revealed that adolescents teased about their weight by family had higher levels of stress (β = .21, 95% confidence interval [CI] = .09-.33) and substance use (β = .16, 95% CI = .04-.28), and lower self-esteem (β = -.16, 95% CI = -.28 to -.05) in young adulthood.

Conclusions: Findings highlight parent weight concern, particularly concern for their child's weight, as a risk factor for family weight teasing. These findings underscore the importance of encouraging parental attention to health, rather than weight, in family-based treatment and public health initiatives.

Keywords: Adolescence; Family weight teasing; Health risk; Parental influence.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: The authors have no conflict of interests to disclose. No author received any form of payment to produce this paper.

References

    1. Puhl RM, Wall MM, Chen C, Austin BS, Eisenberg ME, Neumark-Sztainer D. Experiences of weight teasing in adolescence and weight-related outcomes in adulthood: a 15-year longitudinal study. Prev Med. 2017;100:173–179. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2017.04.023 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Eisenberg ME, Neumark-Sztainer D, Haines J, Wall M. Weight-teasing and emotional well-being in adolescents: Longitudinal findings from Project EAT. J Adolesc Health. 2006;38(6):675–683. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2005.07.002 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lampard AM, MacLehose RF, Eisenberg ME, Neumark-Sztainer D, Davison KK. Weight-related teasing in the school environment: Associations with psychosocial health and weight control practices among adolescent boys and girls. J Youth Adolesc. 2014;43:1770–1780. doi: 10.1007/s10964-013-0086-3 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Puhl RM, Luedicke J, Heuer C. Weight-based victimization toward overweight adolescents: Observations and reactions of peers. J Sch Health. 2011;81:696–703. doi: 10.1111/j.1746-1561.2011.00646.x - DOI - PubMed
    1. Puhl RM, Brownell KD. Confronting and coping with weight stigma: an investigation of overweight and obese adults. Obesity. 2006;14(10):1802–1815. doi: 10.1038/oby.2006.208 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types