Obese children in grades 3 to 6 are likely to be bullied because of their weight, even if they have good social skills, according to CNN Health, citing a new study.

Obese children were 65 percent more likely to be bullied than their peers of normal weight; overweight kids were 13 percent more likely to be bullied, although that finding was not statistically significant, according to the article, which quotes a study released last week in the journal Pediatrics.

Researchers from the University of Michigan in Ann Harbor, who conducted the study, followed over 800 children from 10 cities across the nation born in 1991.

"When we started this study, I really suspected that we might find that obesity or being overweight might not be the driving force,'' said Julie Lumeng, M.D. a professor of pediatrics and lead author of the study to CNN Health. "What we found is that it didn't matter. No matter how good your social skills, if you were overweight or obese you were more likely to be bullied.''

The bullying news comes on the heels of First Lady Michelle Obama's ambitious plan to help fight childhood obesity, which she calls one of the most serious threats to the American health. The numbers paint a grim picture. Almost one-third of children in America are overweight or obese -- that's one in three. One third of all children today will eventually suffer from diabetes -- in the African American and Latino communities, it skyrockets to almost half.

Still, bullying for whatever reason can have long-term psychological and even deadly effects on some young people. Psychiatric experts urge parents, teachers and other adults to educate young people against the practice.

The nation was in uproar earlier this year when nine teenagers in Massachusetts were charged in connection with the bullying a 15-year-old high school student who killed herself. The victim, Phoebe Prince, was the target of a months-long physical and verbal verbal assault campaign because of the boys she dated, among other reasons. She reportedly committed suicide when she could no longer take it any longer.

Bullying by any measure can be harmful and should be discouraged by parents, teachers, and peers.