Being “fat” is the most common reason children are bullied¹, and something needs to be done about it.

“胖”是致使孩子受欺负的最常见原因，对此，我们亟需做些什么。

That is the predominant view of thousands of adults from four different countries who, when asked why children are bullied, said the most common reason was not race, religion, physical disability or sexual orientation², but weight. Nearly three-quarters of respondents said that schools and anti-bullying³ policies need to address the issue, with many calling it a “serious” or “very serious” problem.

研究人员调查了来自四个不同国家的上千名成年人后发现，受访者中的主流观点是：最容易害得孩子被欺负的原因不是种族、宗教、身体残疾或者性取向，而是体重。近四分之三的受访者认为，学校和反欺凌政策应解决这一问题；很多人都称它已达到“严重”或“非常严重”的程度。

Yet most state anti-bullying laws don’t protect overweight children, said Rebecca Puhl, deputy director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity⁴ at the University of Connecticut in Hartford and the lead author of the report, the first cross-national study investigating weight-based bullying, published in Pediatric Obesity.

该论文发表在《小儿肥胖症》杂志(Pediatric Obesity)上，它是首个调查因体重引起的欺凌案件的跨州研究。其主要作者，康涅狄格大学哈特福德校区(University of Connecticut in Hartford)的路德食品政策与肥胖中心(Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity)的副主任丽贝卡·普尔(Rebecca Puhl)指出，可惜，大多数州的反欺凌法案并没有对超重儿童作出保护。

There are no federal laws that guarantee equal treatment of people who are overweight or obese⁵.

目前尚无任何联邦法律可保障超重或肥胖者的平等待遇。

“It is actually legal to discriminate⁶ on the basis of weight, and that sends a message that bias⁷, unfair treatment or bullying of overweight children is tolerable,” Dr. Puhl, a professor of human development and family studies at UConn, said.

康涅狄格大学人类发展和家庭研究教授普尔博士指出，“这实际上等于承认体重歧视合法，它传达出这样一条讯息：心存偏见，不公平地对待甚至欺凌超重儿童都是可以被容忍的。”

As obesity rates have risen, she said, so much emphasis has been placed on taking personal responsibility for body weight and changing behaviors “that there is a perception that these youth are somehow to blame for their weight and in some way deserve this treatment.”

她还说，随着肥胖率的上升，人们太过于强调体重问题应归咎于个人原因，以及肥胖者需要改变自己的行为，“以致形成了这么一种看法，认为在某种程度上，是这些年轻人自己造成了自己的体重问题，他们受到这样的待遇也算‘罪有应得’。”

“There’s also a widespread misperception that stigma⁸ may not be such a bad thing, and that maybe criticism will get people motivated to lose weight,” Dr. Puhl said. In fact, she said, the opposite is true: People who are picked on because of their weight often engage in unhealthy behaviors. Students who are teased for being fat in gym class, for example, often start skipping P.E. to avoid being bullied.

“还有一个普遍的误解是觉得羞辱肥胖者可能并不算什么坏事，批评或许还能刺激他们积极减肥呢。”普尔博士说，但事实正好相反，对某人的体重指指点点反而往往会加剧他的不健康行为。例如，在体育课上受到嘲笑的胖学生通常会开始逃课，以避免被人欺负。

For the new study, researchers surveyed the views of 2,866 adults in the United States, Canada, Iceland and Australia. These four countries have similar rates of childhood and adult obesity, as well as similar cultural attitudes that laud⁹ thinness and being physically¹⁰ active, Dr. Puhl said.

在上面介绍的这项新研究中，研究人员调查了美国、加拿大、冰岛和澳大利亚的2866名成年人的观点。普尔博士称，这四个国家的儿童和成年人肥胖率相似，赞赏苗条身材和积极运动的文化心态也相似。

At least 70 percent of participants in all of the countries perceived weight-based bullying to be a common problem, with 69 percent characterizing it as a “serious” or even “very serious” problem. While about half of respondents listed “being fat” as the most common reason children are picked on, fewer than 21 percent in any country listed race, ethnicity or nationality as the most common reason. Fewer than 15 percent listed sexual orientation, fewer than 12 percent listed physical disability and fewer than 6 percent listed religion or academic ability.

在所有这些国家的参与者中，至少有70%认为体重欺侮是个普遍问题，69%认为它达到了“严重”甚至“非常严重”的程度。当被问及在他们看来导致儿童被欺负的最常见原因为何时，约一半的受访者回答“肥胖”，只有不到21%的受访者认为是种族、民族或国籍，不到15%的受访者回答性取向，不到12%的受访者回答身体残疾，不到6%的受访者回答宗教或学习成绩。

About three-quarters of participants across countries said schools should make efforts to raise awareness¹¹ about weight-based bullying and implement¹² policies that protect overweight kids, and supported bolstering¹³ anti-bullying laws to address weight-based bullying.

各国参与者中有约四分之三表示，学校应该努力提高对体重歧视和欺凌的重视，实施保护超重孩子的政策，并支持建立相关的反欺凌法来解决体重欺侮的问题。

Support for a more active government role was weaker among Americans, however, with only half saying the government should play a more active role and only 47 percent supporting a federal law to prohibit weight-related bullying.

然而，美国人中呼吁政府采取更积极态度的呼声较弱，只有一半的受访者觉得政府应发挥更积极的作用，只有47%的受访者支持通过联邦立法来防止因体重带来的欺侮。

The new survey is not the first to report such findings: A 2011 National Education Association study found that 23 percent of teachers reported weight-based bullying to be a concern in their schools, with lower percentages reporting discrimination based on gender¹⁴, physical disability or perceived sexual orientation.

这项新调查并非是对此类发现的首次报道：早在2011年，美国全国教育协会(National Education Association )的一项研究就发现，有23%的教师报告他们学校中的体重欺侮现象令人担忧，较少有教师报告性别、身体残疾或被认定的性取向造成的歧视。

“The politically correct movement doesn’t seem to have touched body weight,” said Deborah Carr, chair of the sociology department at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. “Weight stigma is the most acute among upper middle class educated people, which is the population that cherishes the lean physique the most.”

“政治正确运动似乎从未触及过体重问题，”新泽西州新布朗斯维克市罗格斯大学(Rutgers University)的社会学系主席德博拉·卡尔( Deborah Carr)说道。“体重欺侮在中产阶级上层受过教育的人群中最为严重，他们最为崇尚体型纤瘦。”

Indeed, as obesity rates have increased in recent years, perceived weight and height discrimination have also risen, research shows.

事实上，研究显示，随着近年来肥胖率的上升，针对认定的体重和身高歧视也有所增加。

With about one third of American children and adolescents weighing in at levels considered to be overweight or obese, public health officials are concerned about discrimination they will face in the workplace, in education and in health care settings, as well as among peers and by their own family members.

在美国，约有三分之一的少年儿童体重超重或肥胖，公共卫生官员担心他们将来在工作场所、教育机构和卫生保健机构、以及同伴和他们自己的家庭成员中都可能受到歧视。

Obese teenage girls get less financial support for college from their parents than girls who aren’t obese, and obese workers earn less than non-obese workers, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report on weight bias authored by Dr. Reginald L. Washington, the chief medical officer of Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children in Denver.

落基山儿童医院（Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children，位于丹佛市）的首席医务官雷金纳德·L·华盛顿(Reginald L. Washington)博士在美国疾病控制和预防中心(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, C.D.C.)的一项关于体重偏见的报告中写道：肥胖少女从父母那里得到的念大学资助要少于普通身材的女孩，肥胖员工的薪资也低于普通身材的员工。

The C.D.C. report reviewed current research and found bias among physicians, educators, family members and peers. A study of more than 400 doctors, for example, found that one in three listed obesity as a condition they responded negatively to, ranking it just behind drug addiction¹⁵, mental illness and alcoholism. The C.D.C. also cited research showing that families often pick on overweight family members; nearly half of overweight girls report being teased about their weight by family members.

该C.D.C.报告在回顾了现有的研究后发现，在医生、教育工作者、家庭成员和同伴之中都存在着偏见。例如，一项涉及400多名医生的研究发现，三分之一的医生指出肥胖是令他们对患者持负面态度的疾病之一，仅次于药物成瘾、精神疾病和酗酒。C.D.C.援引的另一项研究显示，人们常会刁难超重的家庭成员；近一半的超重女孩报告称自己因为体重而被家人戏弄。

While some health experts acknowledge that individual genetic¹⁶ and metabolic¹⁷ differences mean that some people are more prone¹⁸ to gaining weight than others, the most widely disseminated¹⁹ public health message is that anyone can achieve a desirable weight by eating less and exercising regularly.

虽然有部分健康专家承认人与人之间存在着遗传和代谢水平的差异，致使某些人比其他人更容易长胖，但最广为传播的公共卫生信息却是：任何人都可以通过节食和经常运动来达到理想体重。

Dr. Carr said public health experts walk a fine line “between wanting someone to have a healthy body image and feel good about themselves at any size — and wanting them to watch their weight.”

卡尔博士说，公共卫生专家需要把握好分寸，表达清楚他们是“希望人们拥有健康体型，并对任何体型的自己都感觉良好”还是“希望人们注意体重”。