A Narrative Review and a Novel Stigma-Sensitive Approach to Study Weight Stigma Among Children

Weight stigma is linked to negative health and well-being outcomes in both adults and children. Children with overweight or obesity often face stigma as bullying in various settings. When studying children’s perceptions of weight and obesity it is crucial to consider the ethicality, responsibility, and child-appropriateness of the methods used. At worst, the research method may reinforce weight-stigma-related thinking in children or yield inaccurate results. We conducted a narrative review, focusing on methods used to study children’s weight-stigma-related thinking and the consistency of the research findings. The findings of the review suggested that the choice of methodological approach may influence understanding of the phenomenon and the identification of children’s perspectives. Therefore, we conducted a stigma-sensitive approach to minimize reinforcing weight stigma by avoiding methods that condition children to think in weight-biased terms. Consequently, storytelling, drawing task, and individual interviews were employed. A total of 15 children (5 boys, 10 girls) aged 7 to 9 years participated in the study. The responses were analyzed using theory-driven content analysis to identify common categories. The results revealed that when exposed to a story with no explicit mention of characters’ physical appearances, the children focused more on the story’s events, as well as the personalities and emotions of the characters, rather than their physical traits. Based on these results, more research is needed on what kind of methods should be used to study children’s perceptions of weight stigma with sufficient reliability and ethical rigor.