A Three‐Level Meta‐Analysis on the Relation of Overweight or Obesity to Bullying Behavior Among Youths

There has been a growing interest in the association between overweight or obesity and bullying behavior; however, investigations into this relationship have produced inconsistent results. This study is the first three‐level meta‐analytic approach to integrate previous findings on the association between overweight or obesity and bullying behavior (i.e., bullying perpetration, bullying victimization, and bullying victims). The analysis included 168 independent effect sizes (62 studies) and R version 4.4.0 was used to examine the association. Following the heterogeneity test, the random‐effects model was deemed appropriate for the meta‐analyses. Under the assumption of a random‐effects model, a significant association between overweight or obesity and bullying behavior was found. With the exception of the relationship between overweight or obesity and bullying victims moderated by measures of bullying, the relationships between overweight or obesity and bullying victimization and bullying perpetration were moderated by gender. The positive links identified between overweight or obesity and bullying behavior in this meta‐analysis suggest that developmental theories of preventing and intervening in bullying would benefit from considering that being overweight or obese could be a risk factor for bullying behavior. Possible explanations for these findings and their implications for future research are discussed.