The term “lunch shaming” is a growing trend where children are filmed either eating alone or mocked for their food and being posted online.

As a result, many children could be turning to skipping meals or hiding to avoid them. It’s a trend that surfaced this year.

Natalie Mootz, CMO of Nutrition NC, has provided answers to some key questions about the trend:

LB: How does lunch shaming differ from other forms of bullying?

NM: Lunch shaming refers to the social humiliation and embarrassment focused on eating and food choices, or on the social experience of eating at school. Videos have centered on mocking what another child eats and picking on socially isolated students. The difference between it and general bullying is that lunch shaming focuses on the vulnerable activity of eating, which is a necessary and public activity, and is something children cannot simply avoid without issue.

LB: Why might this behavior be increasing?

NM: School cafeterias have always been a social environment, and with the addition of smartphones and social media, videos of other students are much easier to record and distribute, regardless of intention or consent. The introduction of social media has also made children more aware of and affected by body image and status, and while norms around filming other children have weakened, the reach of videos posted online has also grown.

LB: What are the short- and long-term impacts on children’s mental health and eating behaviors?

NM: Short-term effects may include children being anxious around lunch periods, skipping meals; hunger leading to a reduction in concentration, social isolation, and children avoiding school altogether.

Long-term effects may include an increased risk of children developing eating disorders, developing a negative relationship with food, lower self-esteem, an increased risk of depression and developing social anxiety. Videos online showing lunches in the workplace have also seen their comment sections brigaded in negative ways, with shaming happening to working adults as well.

LB: What warning signs should parents watch for at home?

NM: Signs can be seen in behavioral and health changes, like children skipping mealtimes, coming home unusually hungry, asking to eat alone, avoiding school, and frequent complaints of stomach aches and headaches before and after school. Emotional signs may include an increase in anxiety, irritability, social withdrawal and embarrassment about eating. Signs in school may also include avoiding discussion about lunchtimes, attendance or participation changes, and requesting money for different lunches without reason.

LB: What are realistic, evidence-based steps parents can take?

NM: Parents should start with open-ended questions to their children and avoid immediate confrontation on lunchtime as a subject. Appropriate questions can include asking children what their lunchtimes are like, who they sit with, and how other children are treating each other during lunch periods. Any concerns should be taken seriously, and parents should avoid minimizing these concerns. If social media is involved, make records of everything that is going on with screenshots of posts and save copies of videos.

LB: How should parents approach schools, and what should schools be doing?

NM: For parents, approach schools with specific things you have noticed and provide evidence, if applicable. Furthermore, ask schools how their lunchtime supervision and reporting procedures work, and put a focus on wanted safety and options rather than throwing blame.

For schools, increase the numbers and presence of adults in cafeterias, introduce rules around recording other students, treat harassment at lunchtimes as bullying properly, give children a clear outlet to report incidents, train staff to recognize signs of lunch shaming, provide children with education on social media and filming others, and watch for patterns rather than just lone incidents.

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