研究證實這是一個對胖子充滿惡意的世界大綱

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

“胖”是致使孩子受欺負的最常見原因，對此，我們亟需做些什麼。

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 orientation, but weight. Nearly three-quarters of respondents said that schools and anti-bullying policies need to address the issue, with many calling it a “serious” or “very serious” problem.

研究人員調查了來自四個不同國家的上千名成年人後發現，受訪者中的主流觀點是：最容易害得孩子被欺負的原因不是種族、宗教、身體殘疾或者性取向，而是體重。近四分之三的受訪者認爲，學校和反欺凌政策應解決這一問題；很多人都稱它已達到“嚴重”或“非常嚴重”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 Obesity 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.

該論文發表在《小兒肥胖症》雜誌(Pediatric Obesity)上，它是首個調查因體重引起的欺凌案件的跨州研究。其主要作者，康涅狄格大學哈特福德校區(University of Connecticut in Hartford)的路德食品政策與肥胖中心(Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity)的副主任麗貝卡·普爾(Rebecca Puhl)指出，可惜，大多數州的反欺凌法案並沒有對超重兒童作出保護。

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

目前尚無任何聯邦法律可保障超重或肥胖者的平等待遇。

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

康涅狄格大學人類發展和家庭研究教授普爾博士指出，“這實際上等於承認體重歧視合法，它傳達出這樣一條訊息：心存偏見，不公平地對待甚至欺凌超重兒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.”

她還說，隨着肥胖率的上升，人們太過於強調體重問題應歸咎於個人原因，以及肥胖者需要改變自己的行爲，“以致形成了這麼一種看法，認爲在某種程度上，是這些年輕人自己造成了自己的體重問題，他們受到這樣的待遇也算‘罪有應得’。”

“There’s also a widespread misperception that stigma 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.

“還有一個普遍的誤解是覺得羞辱肥胖者可能並不算什麼壞事，批評或許還能刺激他們積極減肥呢。”普爾博士說，但事實正好相反，對某人的體重指指點點反而往往會加劇他的不健康行爲。例如，在體育課上受到嘲笑的胖學生通常會開始逃課，以避免被人欺負。

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 laud thinness and being physically active, Dr. Puhl said.

在上面介紹的這項新研究中，研究人員調查了美國、加拿大、冰島和澳大利亞的2866名成年人的觀點。普爾博士稱，這四個國家的兒童和成年人肥胖率相似，讚賞苗條身材和積極運動的文化心態也相似。

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.

在所有這些國家的參與者中，至少有70%認爲體重欺侮是個普遍問題，69%認爲它達到了“嚴重”甚至“非常嚴重”的程度。當被問及在他們看來導致兒童被欺負的最常見原因爲何時，約一半的受訪者回答“肥胖”，只有不到21%的受訪者認爲是種族、民族或國籍，不到15%的受訪者回答性取向，不到12%的受訪者回答身體殘疾，不到6%的受訪者回答宗教或學習成績。

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

各國參與者中有約四分之三表示，學校應該努力提高對體重歧視和欺凌的重視，實施保護超重孩子的政策，並支持建立相關的反欺凌法來解決體重欺侮的問題。

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，美國人中呼籲政府採取更積極態度的呼聲較弱，只有一半的受訪者覺得政府應發揮更積極的作用，只有47%的受訪者支持通過聯邦立法來防止因體重帶來的欺侮。

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 gender, physical disability or perceived sexual orientation.

這項新調查並非是對此類發現的首次報道：早在2011年，美國全國教育協會(National Education Association )的一項研究就發現，有23%的教師報告他們學校中的體重欺侮現象令人擔憂，較少有教師報告性別、身體殘疾或被認定的性取向造成的歧視。

“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.”

“政治正確運動似乎從未觸及過體重問題，”新澤西州新布朗斯維克市羅格斯大學(Rutgers University)的社會學系主席德博拉·卡爾( Deborah Carr)說道。“體重欺侮在中產階級上層受過教育的人羣中最爲嚴重，他們最爲崇尚體型纖瘦。”

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

事實上，研究顯示，隨着近年來肥胖率的上升，針對認定的體重和身高歧視也有所增加。

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.

在美國，約有三分之一的少年兒童體重超重或肥胖，公共衛生官員擔心他們將來在工作場所、教育機構和衛生保健機構、以及同伴和他們自己的家庭成員中都可能受到歧視。

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.

落基山兒童醫院（Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children，位於丹佛市）的首席醫務官雷金納德·L·華盛頓(Reginald L. Washington)博士在美國疾病控制和預防中心(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, C.D.C.)的一項關於體重偏見的報告中寫道：肥胖少女從父母那裏得到的念大學資助要少於普通身材的女孩，肥胖員工的薪資也低於普通身材的員工。

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 addiction, 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.

該C.D.C.報告在回顧了現有的研究後發現，在醫生、教育工作者、家庭成員和同伴之中都存在着偏見。例如，一項涉及400多名醫生的研究發現，三分之一的醫生指出肥胖是令他們對患者持負面態度的疾病之一，僅次於藥物成癮、精神疾病和酗酒。C.D.C.援引的另一項研究顯示，人們常會刁難超重的家庭成員；近一半的超重女孩報告稱自己因爲體重而被家人戲弄。

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

雖然有部分健康專家承認人與人之間存在着遺傳和代謝水平的差異，致使某些人比其他人更容易長胖，但最廣爲傳播的公共衛生信息卻是：任何人都可以通過節食和經常運動來達到理想體重。

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.”

卡爾博士說，公共衛生專家需要把握好分寸，表達清楚他們是“希望人們擁有健康體型，並對任何體型的自己都感覺良好”還是“希望人們注意體重”。