Weight-related bullying in schools: a review of school anti-bullying policies
Abstract Introduction Weight is reported to be the most common target for bullying at school - far more common than other targets such as ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. Research suggests weight bias and stigma - including negative beliefs, attitudes and discriminatory behaviours related...
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BMC
2025-05-01
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| Series: | BMC Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-23170-9 |
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| author | Amanda Hughes Elisabeth Grey Alice Haigherty Fayth Shepherd Fiona Gillison Georgie MacArthur Caoimhe Gowran Rebecca Langford |
| author_facet | Amanda Hughes Elisabeth Grey Alice Haigherty Fayth Shepherd Fiona Gillison Georgie MacArthur Caoimhe Gowran Rebecca Langford |
| author_sort | Amanda Hughes |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Introduction Weight is reported to be the most common target for bullying at school - far more common than other targets such as ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. Research suggests weight bias and stigma - including negative beliefs, attitudes and discriminatory behaviours related to a person’s weight - is prevalent in educational settings among both pupils and staff. Most schools have anti-bullying policies. Best practice recommendations advise policies should explicitly identify forms of unacceptable behaviour, such as racism or homophobia. We conducted an audit of secondary schools in southwest England to determine if/how they mention weight-related bullying in their policies, and whether this differs by school-level factors. Methods We obtained lists of all secondary mainstream state, private, and special schools in seven local authorities and downloaded anti-bullying policies from their websites. Policies were searched for key words related to weight and size. We also recorded whether policies mentioned appearance or other key targets for bullying, such as race, religion, sexuality etc. We obtained school level data including size, gender mix, academic performance and quality ratings. Results From 255 schools with an available bullying or behaviour policy, only 6.7% specifically mentioned weight-related bullying. Just under half (48.6%) mentioned bullying in relation to appearance. Bullying was most often mentioned in relation to race/ethnicity (94.5%), sexual orientation (93.3%), gender (85.9%), religion (84.9%) or gender identity (67.5%). Private schools (N = 40) were more likely to mention weight-related bullying (17.5%) than mainstream state schools (N = 148, 6.1%). No special schools, whether state (N = 41) or private (N = 26), mentioned weight-related bullying in their policies. There was no strong evidence that other school characteristics made a difference, but small numbers limited statistical power of these comparisons. Conclusion There is a significant mismatch between the prevalence of weight-related bullying in schools and its representation within school anti-bullying policies. Some types of school are more likely than others to mention weight-related bullying in their policies. We recommend that schools explicitly recognise weight-related bullying in their anti-bullying policies and explore how to support staff and pupils to take action. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ccf424b110894bb8b7875dc54e531d0d |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1471-2458 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-ccf424b110894bb8b7875dc54e531d0d2025-08-20T03:16:51ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582025-05-0125111110.1186/s12889-025-23170-9Weight-related bullying in schools: a review of school anti-bullying policiesAmanda Hughes0Elisabeth Grey1Alice Haigherty2Fayth Shepherd3Fiona Gillison4Georgie MacArthur5Caoimhe Gowran6Rebecca Langford7Medical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Bristol Medical School, University of BristolThe National Institute for Health and Care Research Applied Research Collaboration West (NIHR ARC West), University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation TrustDepartment of Psychology, University of BathDepartment of Psychology, University of BathThe National Institute for Health and Care Research Applied Research Collaboration West (NIHR ARC West), University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation TrustNorth Somerset CouncilBristol City CouncilThe National Institute for Health and Care Research Applied Research Collaboration West (NIHR ARC West), University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation TrustAbstract Introduction Weight is reported to be the most common target for bullying at school - far more common than other targets such as ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. Research suggests weight bias and stigma - including negative beliefs, attitudes and discriminatory behaviours related to a person’s weight - is prevalent in educational settings among both pupils and staff. Most schools have anti-bullying policies. Best practice recommendations advise policies should explicitly identify forms of unacceptable behaviour, such as racism or homophobia. We conducted an audit of secondary schools in southwest England to determine if/how they mention weight-related bullying in their policies, and whether this differs by school-level factors. Methods We obtained lists of all secondary mainstream state, private, and special schools in seven local authorities and downloaded anti-bullying policies from their websites. Policies were searched for key words related to weight and size. We also recorded whether policies mentioned appearance or other key targets for bullying, such as race, religion, sexuality etc. We obtained school level data including size, gender mix, academic performance and quality ratings. Results From 255 schools with an available bullying or behaviour policy, only 6.7% specifically mentioned weight-related bullying. Just under half (48.6%) mentioned bullying in relation to appearance. Bullying was most often mentioned in relation to race/ethnicity (94.5%), sexual orientation (93.3%), gender (85.9%), religion (84.9%) or gender identity (67.5%). Private schools (N = 40) were more likely to mention weight-related bullying (17.5%) than mainstream state schools (N = 148, 6.1%). No special schools, whether state (N = 41) or private (N = 26), mentioned weight-related bullying in their policies. There was no strong evidence that other school characteristics made a difference, but small numbers limited statistical power of these comparisons. Conclusion There is a significant mismatch between the prevalence of weight-related bullying in schools and its representation within school anti-bullying policies. Some types of school are more likely than others to mention weight-related bullying in their policies. We recommend that schools explicitly recognise weight-related bullying in their anti-bullying policies and explore how to support staff and pupils to take action.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-23170-9BullyingSchoolWeightObesityStigmaBias |
| spellingShingle | Amanda Hughes Elisabeth Grey Alice Haigherty Fayth Shepherd Fiona Gillison Georgie MacArthur Caoimhe Gowran Rebecca Langford Weight-related bullying in schools: a review of school anti-bullying policies BMC Public Health Bullying School Weight Obesity Stigma Bias |
| title | Weight-related bullying in schools: a review of school anti-bullying policies |
| title_full | Weight-related bullying in schools: a review of school anti-bullying policies |
| title_fullStr | Weight-related bullying in schools: a review of school anti-bullying policies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Weight-related bullying in schools: a review of school anti-bullying policies |
| title_short | Weight-related bullying in schools: a review of school anti-bullying policies |
| title_sort | weight related bullying in schools a review of school anti bullying policies |
| topic | Bullying School Weight Obesity Stigma Bias |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-23170-9 |
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