A naturalistic study of fat talk and its behavioral and affective consequences

• Ecological momentary assessment was used to identify consequences of fat talk.
• Fat talk is associated with increases in body dissatisfaction and negative affect.
• Fat talk is associated with more frequent body checking and disordered eating.
• Participating in fat talk has greater negative effects than overhearing fat talk.
• Effects of fat talk were increased for individuals high in self-objectification.

Fat talk is a style of verbal expression among young women involving negative self-statements, complaints about physical appearance, and weight management. This research used ecological momentary assessment to examine the impact of naturalistic fat talk experiences on body dissatisfaction, body checking, negative affect, and disordered eating behaviors. We examined trait self-objectification as a moderator. Sixty-five female college students completed a baseline questionnaire and responded to questions when randomly prompted by palm pilot devices for five days. Results indicated fat talk is common and associated with greater body dissatisfaction, body checking, negative affect, and disordered eating behaviors. Fat talk participation was associated with greater body checking than overhearing fat talk. Greater trait self-objectification was associated with greater body dissatisfaction and body checking following fat talk. These results suggest that fat talk negatively impacts the cognitions, affect, and behavior of young women and has increased negative effects for women higher in self-objectification.