“Ha ha, you’re fat, we’re strong”; a qualitative study of boys’ and girls’ perceptions of fatness, thinness, social pressures and health using focus groups

Abstract

Presents results of focus group discussions held with 300 nine‐to‐11‐year old UK children. Questions were asked about whether it matters if someone is fat or thin; whether a fat child should take any action; what problems they might have; and the relationship between fatness, thinness and health. Considerable complexity emerged; children divided fat children into those for whom it was natural and those for whom it was self‐inflicted. They showed a great deal of sympathy for “naturally” fat children. However, they also felt that fat children would be bullied. Girls seemed less able than boys to resist the pressures to be thin, but also showed considerable ability to distance themselves from media images of thin women. Although children had learned the orthodoxy surrounding health, fat and overweight, they did not believe that “thin is good, fat is bad” and did not tend to link weight control with exercise.

Citation

Dixey, R., Sahota, P., Atwal, S. and Turner, A. (2001), "“Ha ha, you’re fat, we’re strong”; a qualitative study of boys’ and girls’ perceptions of fatness, thinness, social pressures and health using focus groups", Health Education, Vol. 101 No. 5, pp. 206-216. https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000005644