Background: Psychosocial offshoots of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have extended to body dissatisfaction, especially among women. Factors such as increased social media exposure, weight gain memes, and peer conversations about appearance during lockdown might be the potential contributing factors, which need further exploration. The study examined the contribution of ‘fat talk’ and societal influences in determining body dissatisfaction among Indian women. The likely content of the ‘fat talk’ during the lockdown was also analyzed. Methods: The study followed a cross-sectional online based design. Participants comprised of 265 women, aged 15 to 50 years. The Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ-8c), Sociocultural Attitudes toward Appearance Questionnaire (SATAQ-3), and Negative Body Talk Scale were used to measure body satisfaction, societal influences, and fat talk respectively. Further, participants were asked to respond to a friend’s comment about her supposed weight gain in the pandemic (fat talk). Results: Fat talk, social influence, weight, and age were significantly correlated with body dissatisfaction. Multiple Regression models indicated that fat talk, social influence, weight, and age accounted for 53.33% of the variance in body satisfaction. Thematic analysis of responses to fat-talk conversations revealed two dominant themes: focus on exercise and diet, as well as acknowledging weight gain and normalizing it in the context of the pandemic. Conclusion: Fat talk amongst peers, societal influence and body-image stereotypes were the most potent contributors in determining body dissatisfaction among Indian women during the pandemic, which can contribute to significant dysfunction. These factors need addressal in the socio-cultural context through health campaigns, interpersonal strategies, and more positive and constructive forms of weight and body image-related communication.
Engagement with fat talk as a function of social comparison and body image concerns: Two replication studies support main effects but do not support an interaction effect.