How were you treated growing up?

Hi, everyone.  I'm old  - 53   When I was growing up, I was usually the only overweight kid in my class, or even in my grade.  It was horrible for me - rude comments, being made fun of, only one store for clothes (Sears chubby "department" - actually one small alcove), always feeling ashamed of my body, etc. 

It seems that obesity is much more common now among youngsters, and I'm wondering if that has made it any easier to be an overweight teen (or early 20's), or is it still as traumatic as it was 40 years ago.  What's been your experience?

I still flinch every time I hear "obesity epidemic."

Allison

it was definitely different for me. growing up i was chubby but not fat. and it seemed there were enough other chubby kids around me, and someone else was always bigger. i never really got "fat" until i was 19/20, but i was still comfortable and confident enough in myself that it really didn't make much of a difference. even at 250 i was still getting hit on at bars all the time. i think a big part is what you make of it and the attitude you exude.

 I don't recall being made fun of that much. I just felt like I was ignored by a lot of people. It's probably different for guys though. I could still make friends, but it was solely my responsibility to make that happen - no one ever sought me out directly for friendship. 

In all honesty, it never felt that bad except when I would try interact with the opposite sex. I'm sure there were probably some girls out there that would have loved to talk to me, but I was a naive teenager and most of the girls that I tried to talk to would shut me down immediately, and there weren't usually very nice about it. at all lol. When I hear some stories about how it used to be though, I'm thinking you're probably right. I probably did have it easier than it would have been even five or ten years before I graduated high school.

yeap "obesity epidemic" definitely grinds my gears lol

when I was younger, I was the "fat girl" in the class...I was friends with the pretty,thin girls who came from money...I was the exact opposite. I was chubby and shy...so I was the target of so much bullying.  But once I got to high school I became the bully...I was very outspoken and didnt give anyone a chance "to get to me before I got to them" type deal.  In college I was more sure of myself...I become comfortable with who I was, despite weighing 300lbs, so I "fit in" more & found my niche' on the rugby field where being "big" was seen as a plus. 

I remember growing up how aweful it was to have to wear hand me downs from aunts/grandparents because I didnt fit into "kids" clothes.  I remember trying/wanting to dress like my friends but in the end looking rediculous squeezed into clothes too small.  I remember always being the odd girl out...the last one picked, the friend who you called as a last resort. Always a joke to the opposite sex, asked out on "dares".  Not having a jersey for softball because none of the "youth" sizes fit me...yup it was all just a little traumatic.

the main reason behind my decision for WLS was so me & hubby could get out lifestyles in "check" before we start our family.  I want to raise children who take care of their bodies and don't have to suffer through the "shame" of being "obese"...what a cruel world we live in where people are judged based on size rather then their character.  i plan to teach my children (and hope others do to) how to be more tolerant.

Thanks for the replies, everyone. It sounds like there's a lot of variation!

The teasing got so bad and unbearable for me that I dropped out of school to get away from the kids that were teasing since I was in elementary school and I only had my senior year left to do... So I started GED classes and come to find out the kids that I wanted to get away from dropped out as well it was weird.

 heck no, it was terrible for me and i'm only 20. The chubbier I got, the worse bullying was. And when I was younger my sister and I had the exact same problem.. only being able to shop at the Sears "Pretty Plus"....IF they fit! I'm not so sure it's changed very much in the last 10 years either!!

Plus, fat kids are usually just as mean to each other as skinny kids are to fat kids. So strength in numbers doesn't really apply.

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I was friends or knew pretty much everyone considering I grew up in a small town. I was always taller and bigger than everyone in grade school and was kinda an out cast with only a few select friends. When I hit high school I played sports and was active but still only had a few select friends. I do remember being teased and the sad part was the people I remember teasing me were bigger than I was. Then also the others that teased me didn't really do it to my face they just spred rumors about me and I heard about them later.

It's so sad to me that the bullying continues, not only in grade school, but through our whole lives.

Yeah, I was the shy kid in middle school. I got picked on a lot and at one point my parents were trying to figure out a way to home school me. I then went on to high school and I didn't get picked on, but I was still shy. Then junior year, I changed completely and became really outspoken and not afraid of what other people think. It made all the difference, and I was comfortable in myself for the most part. I just hated the fact I couldn't do a lot of what my friends could do and I wanted a better life for me. WLS was the best decision I ever made!