Bullying seen as persistent problem; overweight children bear brunt

Published: 2006-04-20

ATLANTA (CNS) -- Bullying is such a serious issue that the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta monitor it as a "child risk behavior," according to Lynne Lang, a school community health educator in St. Louis. To illustrate her point, she said 160,000 children stay home from school each day because they're afraid of someone at their school. Among the easiest targets for bullying are overweight and obese children -- a group whose ranks are swelling as a result of America's dietary habits, said Angela Sheer, a dietitian who works with Lang at Barnes Jewish Christian HealthCare. The percentage of overweight children and youths ages 6-19 in the United States tripled from 5 percent to 15 percent between 1980 and 2000, Sheer said, and CDC figures indicate the current obesity rate at 17 percent of youngsters in that age group. Lang and Sheer presented a workshop, "Tipping the Scales on Childhood Obesity and Bullying," April 19 during the National Catholic Educational Association's 103rd annual convention being held in Atlanta.

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