In January 2020, 212 pediatricians of bullied and overweight children began reporting data anonymously to a University of Berlin graduate student as part of a study on bullying’s effects on the health of overweight children. The doctors were eager for the results of the study, as they long suspected results that no one else saw coming.
Obese Kids Difficult for Doctors to Motivate; Not So For Bullies
“We’ve known for years bullies are the only ones that can make overweight kids run” said Dr. Vick Buberly of Houston, “I tell every patient to exercise and they don’t do it, but the sight of a bully and these obese kids run like gazelles.”
The study indeed validated Buberly’s hypothesis: the more an overweight kid was bullied, the more weight he lost, and vice versa.
“Many of these obese kids never exercise, and their attempts to evade and resist bullying actually provided excellent aerobic exercise and strength training,” explained Dr. Buberly.
Doctors Warn Anti-Bullying Groups May Cause Deaths by Preventing Bullying Exercise
Bullying Saving Lives, Doctors Say
Physicians treating obese patients often grow frustrated treating patients who do not follow doctors’ orders about diet and exercise. We spoke with one such doctor on the condition of anonymity to learn more about this frustration.
“There were so many times I have had an obese child who would start out doing exercise, but resistance typically builds by the third or fourth day, But over time I noticed a trend in weightloss for the kids being bullied,” our anonymous doctor said. “And then when all these anti-bullying groups came on the scene and then there was a Hollywood movie and a song on the radio about bullying and I was torn as a doctor between wanting to protect the patient from psychological trauma from bullies, and wanting the regular physical activity the bullying gave them.”
Other doctors we spoke with off the record concurred that anti-bullying groups were going too far with comforting and were actually a threat to obese kids.
“These parents are comforting their bullied kids with cookies and ice cream when they should be giving tough love. Look, bullying is not a good thing, but it does have good health effects,” she said.
“When you take away bullying, you take away the only source of exercise for many kids with life-threatening obesity,” said Dr. Simon Vees of Berlin. “Anti-bullying campaigns backfire by making kids gain even more weight – I have no doubt these anti-bullying groups are causing deaths among obese kids that would have lived if they had only gotten their regular bullying exercise.”
Parents of Bullies Using Bumper Stickers to Make Bullying Point
“Be GRATEFUL My Kid Bullies Your Kid” Bumper Stickers
Parents of kids who bully are now advising one another to encourage the bullying by rewarding their bullies and making disparaging remarks about the “fat” kids to encourage more bullying.
“It’s critical to the well-being of these obese kids that the bullying is not only not stopped, but actually encouraged. We need a regular supply of healthy bullying if we’re going to solve this obesity epidemic,” said one of our anonymous physicians.
“We need a regular supply of healthy bullying if we’re going to solve this obesity epidemic”