In the past year, Stephen Mitchell has been diagnosed with a variety of food allergies: soy products, nuts, coconuts, raw eggs, and raw vegetables and fruits.

But it’s more than a health issue. Mitchell said he has also been teased for his food allergies.

‘I have been made fun of,’ said Mitchell, a freshman in the College of Visual and Performing Arts. ‘A lot of people don’t believe me. It’s just little things. A lot of people are worried they can’t eat the food around you.’

Mitchell is not alone. Nearly one in 25 children over 5 years old has a food allergy, and 35 percent have experienced bullying, teasing or harassment due to their allergies, according to a new study released Sept. 28 by Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The report is included in the October issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

The study, led by Scott Sicherer, professor of pediatrics at the Jaffe Food Allergy Institute at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, looked at survey responses from 353 parents or caregivers of children with allergies. Surveys were conducted in 2009 at meetings of the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network in Tarrytown, N.Y., Rosemont, Ill., and Baltimore.

While the study reported classmates were the most common perpetrators, 20 percent reported harassment or teasing from teachers and other school staff.

Mitchell said the worst teasing he experienced was from his household. 

‘My mother didn’t believe me,’ he said. ‘My mother would force me to eat vegetables and fruits, thinking I’d get over it or stop lying to her. She kept saying I was a liar, so we went to an allergy doctor, where he told her I was extremely allergic.’  

Sixty-four percent of participants reported verbal teasing, and more than 43 percent reported having the allergen waved in their face. No allergic reactions resulted from the bullying, but approximately 65 percent reported feelings of depression and embarrassment.

Rebecca Sichel, a freshman nutrition major, already had an allergy to coconuts when her throat began closing up to peanuts this year. After being tested, she was diagnosed with a peanut allergy.

She said she has never experienced teasing due to her allergies and doesn’t understand why people would make fun of someone with a food allergy.

‘It’s not something you can control,’ Sichel said. ‘It’s your body’s choice, so it shouldn’t be something you are teased about.’

Katie Walsh, a freshman communications design major, said she doesn’t get teased for being lactose intolerant, but rather receives sympathy.

Walsh said she wasn’t aware people teased one another for food allergies. 

‘It’s very juvenile,’ she said. ‘I didn’t know anyone who did it in high school.’

Mitchell said he doesn’t view his allergies as a hindrance. 

‘My life doesn’t suck,’ he said. ‘It’s not like, ‘Feel sorry for me.’ It’s more of an annoyance than anything.’