Development and validation of the Fat Talk Questionnaire

Fat talk refers to negative body-related conversations between girls or young women. This research aimed to use qualitative data from young women to guide development of a quantitative fat talk measure. In Study 1, a preliminary 62-item questionnaire was developed and administered to 200 female participants. Item analysis resulted in the elimination of items, yielding a final questionnaire with 14 items. Principal components analysis of this questionnaire indicated a single factor. In Study 2, 95 female participants completed the newly developed Fat Talk Questionnaire and theoretically related (e.g., body image) and unrelated (e.g., social desirability) constructs. Additionally, 49 male participants completed the questionnaire to examine known groups validity. In Study 3, 54 participants completed the Fat Talk Questionnaire on two occasions to assess temporal stability. The results showed that the Fat Talk Questionnaire is reliable and valid. The Fat Talk Questionnaire may have important utility in future research.

► The Fat Talk Questionnaire (FTQ) assesses negative body-related conversations.
► Principal component analysis revealed one factor, indicating that fat talk is unidimensional.
► The FTQ was found to be highly reliable, with an internal consistency of α = .93 and test–retest reliability of r = .90.
► The FTQ correlated with related constructs (e.g., body dissatisfaction).
► The FTQ was uncorrelated with unrelated variables and scores were higher in women than men.