Steve, I appreciate your writing this. There is so much stigma attached to being fat that it can utterly distort a child's mind. I know 'cause I was there, and as you point out, the sting of a teasing remark never goes away. I remember spending all day at school trying to hold my stomach in so I wouldn't look so fat, but the kids noticed that too and mocked me all the more. I dreaded every day. Finally I got motivated to take up jogging and slim down, but I think something happens to one's personality that stays there for life. If an adult can reach out to an overweight child and somehow let them know that they're OK as a human being, it would help.