Young children can have unconscious prejudice towards their overweight peers, which leads these chubby¹ kids to gain even more weight, a study claims.

一项研究称，儿童会对超重的同龄人产生无意识的偏见，从而导致这些胖孩子体重进一步增加。

Duke University researchers found that children as young as nine years old can have a bias² against fatter children, using their weight to determine if they are 'bad' or 'good'.

来自杜克大学的研究人员发现，9岁的孩子就会对肥胖的孩子产生偏见，用他们的体重来判断他们是“好人”还是“坏人”。

The new study found there was an overall five percent negative bias towards overweight children.

这项新研究发现，对超重孩子总体上有5%的负面偏见。

The study was published in the journal Pediatrics and included 114 children to make these findings.

该项研究被刊载在《儿科》期刊上，共对114名儿童进行了调查。

Experts noted³ that children who were shown pictures of chubbier⁴ kids were more likely to determine them as 'bad'. Researchers said these children may not even realize their bias.

专家指出，当向孩子们展示肥胖儿童的照片时，他们更倾向于认为照片中的人是“坏人”。研究人员称，这些孩子可能甚至都没有意识到自己的偏见。

Dr Asheley Skinner, an associate professor of medicine at Duke University School of Medicine, said: 'When children are stigmatized⁵ for being overweight, it can cause further weight gain and other health consequences.'

杜克大学医学院医学副教授阿什利·斯金纳表示：“当孩子们因为超重而背负骂名的时候，他们的体重可能会进一步增加、并患上其他健康问题。”

'Fat-shaming' – insulting or bullying⁶ children because of their weight is causing obese⁷ children to be treated a social outcasts, researchers claimed.

研究人员称，“肥胖羞辱”--即因为儿童肥胖就侮辱或者欺凌他们，会导致这些孩子被当作社会遗弃者。