News - National
Report: Kids bullied over food allergies
Posted: Sep 30, 2010 2:34 PM by Bea Karnes, News First 5
Updated: Sep 30, 2010 2:48 PM
A new study reveals that one in four children with a food allergy is bullied because of it.
The report, from the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, finds the majority of these children were harassed more than once. Verbal abuse was the most common form of bullying.
Most were bullied by their classmates but 21-percent said they had been teased by a teacher or school staff member.
Over half of the children surveyed said bullies had taunted them or touched them with the actual food they were allergic to.
An estimated 12-million Americans have some sort of food allergy -- three million are children.
Severe allergic reactions can cause death.
The study is published in the October 2010 issue of the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.
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