“You Look Fat in Red”: Fat Talk in the Workplace

In the Indonesian context, commenting on one's less adequate body size is considered normal. However, the effect it has on the person who is subjected to it is quite surprising. The fat talk phenomenon in the workplace is one example of fat talk case that remains under-researched. This research reflects the phenomenon of fat talk in the workplace viewed from a sociolinguistics viewpoint. In analyzing and gathering the evidence, this research uses a descriptive qualitative approach and citizen sociolinguistics. The data were obtained from the discovery made by citizen sociolinguists in the workplace. Based on Bulik's 12 types of fat talk, the results showed that the most frequent types are personalized and generic (24%), followed by compliment fishing and bullying (21%). The least used types of fat talk are comparative, joking, and fat-is-ugly. The results also showed that the fat talk's linguistic features were found to be linked to body parts, clothing, food, body health, appearance, weight, and context of appearance and height. Eventually, fat talk is a new language variation that has fulfilled a specific language purpose in the workplace.

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the 'fat talk' construct

The literature currently lacks a psychometrically valid and reliable assessment tool that adequately measures the fat talk construct. This research aimed to use qualitative data gathered from young adult women to guide development of a fat talk measure. In Study 1, 14 individuals participated in fat talk themed focus groups or individual interviews. In Study 2, 257 participants completed questionnaires measuring fat talk and theoretically related (e.g., body image) and unrelated (e.g., 'academic talk') constructs. In a preliminary analysis, the newly-developed Fat Talk Questionnaire was found to be reliable and valid. In future research, the Fat Talk Questionnaire should be refined to further improve its psychometric properties.

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the 'fat talk' construct

The literature currently lacks a psychometrically valid and reliable assessment tool that adequately measures the fat talk construct. This research aimed to use qualitative data gathered from young adult women to guide development of a fat talk measure. In Study 1, 14 individuals participated in fat talk themed focus groups or individual interviews. In Study 2, 257 participants completed questionnaires measuring fat talk and theoretically related (e.g., body image) and unrelated (e.g., 'academic talk') constructs. In a preliminary analysis, the newly-developed Fat Talk Questionnaire was found to be reliable and valid. In future research, the Fat Talk Questionnaire should be refined to further improve its psychometric properties.

The Impact of Different Responses to Negative Body Talk on Body Satisfaction, Shame, and Future Fat Talk Likelihood: A UK Sample

A recent online experiment found that, following a negative body talk induction task, receiving a response of ignoring the comment, compared with reassuring, reciprocating, and challenging, led to worse body satisfaction and socio-emotional outcomes for Australian women. The current online study aimed to replicate and extend this study by examining the effects of these four negative body talk responses on body satisfaction, shame, and future negative body talk likelihood in UK-based women. Participants (N = 156, Mage = 25.29, SDage = 5.64, rangeage = 18-40) recalled a scenario in which they engaged in negative body talk and were randomly assigned to receive one of four responses. Contrary to hypotheses, there were no significant differences in body satisfaction, shame, or future negative body talk likelihood across the four groups. Preferred negative body talk response data were mixed, with challenge and reassurance responses preferred at comparable rates, and just under a quarter of participants preferring a response outside of the original four. Possible explanations, including that the responses used in the original Australasian study may not perfectly correspond with UK women’s experiences of social interactions and heterogeneous motivations for engaging in negative body talk necessitate more nuanced and sophisticated responses, are explored.

Fat Talk in College Women: A Response Styles Perspective

This study placed the phenomenon of college women’s fat talk within response styles theory. We predicted that with increasing trait body dissatisfaction there would be an increase in rumination leading to a greater frequency of fat talk. We also predicted that neuroticism would moderate this mediation pathway, and that these effects would occur over and above body size. A survey was conducted on a convenience sample of 212 college women with a mean age of 22.04 years ( SDage = 2.61). A bootstrap analysis utilizing PROCESS software supported the predicted moderated-mediation model. Thus, those college women higher in both trait body dissatisfaction and neuroticism would experience greater rumination and engage more frequently in fat talk. Implications of applying a response styles perspective for future research and fat talk interventions are discussed.

‘Weighty woes’: Impact of fat talk and social influences on body dissatisfaction among Indian women during the pandemic

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.

Adaptação transcultural do Fat Talk Questionnaire para o Português do Brasil

RESUMO: Objetivo: Realizar a adaptação transcultural do Fat Talk Questionnaire para o português do Brasil com foco no grupo de meninas adolescentes. Métodos: O trabalho seguiu as etapas de equivalência conceitual e de itens, semântica e operacional. A avaliação conceitual e de itens foi realizada por pesquisadores da área de nutrição e imagem corporal; a semântica envolveu tradutores fluentes em inglês e português (n = 3) e experts (n = 19) em imagem corporal e comportamento alimentar. A terceira etapa contou com 32 adolescentes do sexo feminino (de 15 a 18 anos) que responderam à versão traduzida e adaptada para avaliação da compreensão pelo público-alvo. Resultados: Dos 14 itens do instrumento, seis foram considerados adequados pelos experts, três necessitaram de adequações mínimas de linguagem e cinco careciam de alterações mais amplas para adequações cultural e idiomática. A retrotradução foi aprovada pelos autores originais. O tempo médio de resposta pelas adolescentes foi de 3,5 minutos, não sendo apontadas dúvidas. Conclusão: A escala encontra-se traduzida e adaptada para o português para aplicação em adolescentes do sexo feminino, demonstrando resultados satisfatórios no processo de tradução e equivalências conceitual, semântica e operacional. São necessárias ainda análises de validade externa, equivalência de mensuração e reprodutibilidade.