Women having conversations about their weight are seen as unhelpful

WOMEN who make disparaging comments about their bodies only make themselves feel worse, with research revealing 97 per cent of women engage in ’fat talk’.

Madison Ward (right), with Jaime De Zwart, says an active lifestyle means she is not obsessed with her weight. Picture: Annette Dew

WOMEN who make disparaging comments about their bodies only make themselves feel worse, with research revealing 97 per cent of women engage in “fat talk”.

Simply saying “I’m so fat” or telling a friend “You look great, have you lost weight?” has been found to be toxic in a study to be presented at this weekend’s Australian Psychological Society Congress.

The study, by Jessica Pearson, showed almost all women participate in “fat talk” – chat that involves ­disparaging comments about their own weight.

The study found such conversations compound body dissatisfaction and makes women more likely to ­compare themselves negatively to others.

“My investigation showed terms (women) use like “I’m so fat” or “You look great have you lost weight?” can do harm,” said Ms Pearson, who is completing a Masters in Clinical Psychology.

“When women participated in these fat talk conversations, they were more likely to engage in negative appearance-related behaviours, such as comparing their bodies to other women perceived as more ­attractive, or inspecting their bodies in a mirror or shop front window.

“They were also significantly more likely to feel dissatisfied with their own bodies,” she said.

“This research illustrates how commonly occurring conversations around society’s ideals of beauty, which are often not even achievable, can result in women feeling much worse about their appearances.” The Butterfly Foundation warns fat talk is a toxic form of body shaming, which contributes to body discontent.

“Language around appearance and our bodies is ­something we should all be mindful of,” the foundation’s chief executive Christine Morgan said.

“In order to shift the focus and conversation among peers or family, a simple thing to try is to acknowledge others for their personality, actions or behaviours.

“This will help remove ‘value’ placed on appearance and help us realise we are so much more than our bodies.”

The foundation emphasised that when a person experiences low self-esteem and negative body image they are more likely to engage in unhelpful or unhealthy behaviours such as restrictive dieting or extreme exercise.

Madison Ward, 17, from Northgate said her friends often talked about weight and diet. “I am very active and not obsessed with my weight,” she said.

Butterfly Foundation 1800 33 4673 (ED HOPE) or visit thebutterflyfoundation.org.au