Spring Break
Spectator Editorial: Social weight
New research doesn't offer solutions to adolescent obesity
Issue date: 2/21/08 Section: Editorial/Opinion
Being the popular girl in school might not just get you a date to prom - research is showing that it might help to keep off excess pounds.
A study published in last month's issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine found that girls who think they aren't popular are at a higher risk for gaining weight than those who view themselves as being popular. Researchers at Harvard University conducted the study under the idea that a young girl's perception of her social status can affect her weight.
The researchers marked the body mass index of 4,500 girls ages 12 to 18, then asked them to rank their perceived social standing on a scale of 1 to 10. The girls' BMI was measured against two years later and it was determined that girls who thought little of their social standing had a 70 percent higher risk of gaining excess weight.
These findings may ultimately end up helping fight obesity in young adults, but in the short term there doesn't seem to be much application of this information. High school students always develop some sort of social pecking order - what are schools' administrators supposed to do to prevent this? Also, how would this help girls who are already overweight and see themselves as unpopular? Parents may try to encourage their daughters to engage in more social activities, but the fact they are overweight may cause them to be picked on and excluded before any benefits can be reaped.
A lot of factors go into why a person is overweight, but focusing on the connection to weight and perceived popularity will not lead to any more solutions. Until more research is done and some viable resolution is discovered, it may almost be best to keep this information away from young girls.
A study published in last month's issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine found that girls who think they aren't popular are at a higher risk for gaining weight than those who view themselves as being popular. Researchers at Harvard University conducted the study under the idea that a young girl's perception of her social status can affect her weight.
The researchers marked the body mass index of 4,500 girls ages 12 to 18, then asked them to rank their perceived social standing on a scale of 1 to 10. The girls' BMI was measured against two years later and it was determined that girls who thought little of their social standing had a 70 percent higher risk of gaining excess weight.
These findings may ultimately end up helping fight obesity in young adults, but in the short term there doesn't seem to be much application of this information. High school students always develop some sort of social pecking order - what are schools' administrators supposed to do to prevent this? Also, how would this help girls who are already overweight and see themselves as unpopular? Parents may try to encourage their daughters to engage in more social activities, but the fact they are overweight may cause them to be picked on and excluded before any benefits can be reaped.
A lot of factors go into why a person is overweight, but focusing on the connection to weight and perceived popularity will not lead to any more solutions. Until more research is done and some viable resolution is discovered, it may almost be best to keep this information away from young girls.
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