Read further information on Fat Talk and the origins of Fat Talk Free Week
Fat Talk
Seemingly innocent comments like, "You look so good! Have you lost weight?" Or, "You look really thin in that outfit! I love it!" often fuel unhealthy body image and feed the notion that people only look good if they lose weight or conform to narrow beauty norms that idealise thinness for women and leanness and muscularity for men.
Dangers of Fat Talk
Research shows that a mere 3-5 minutes of listening to, or engaging in, fat talk can lead some women to feel bad about their appearance and experience heightened levels of body dissatisfaction (Stice, Maxfield and Wells, 2003). Fat talk also can reinforce unhealthy behaviours, and in some cases may help (along with other factors) nudge someone further down the path towards an eating disorder, or provide evidence to someone with an eating disorder that their over concern with weight or shape is justified. Even for those without eating disorders, fat talk sends the message that they should be concerned about the way they look.
The results of our body image surveys in April and November 2011 revealed that 30% of women and men would trade at least one year of their life to achieve their ideal body weight and shape. Some people believe that some forms of fat talk may be helpful and encourage our friends or family members to have a healthy diet and exercise program. In actual fact, research shows that fat talk promotes body dissatisfaction, which in turn has been shown in research to be associated with decreased exercise and lower levels of fruit and vegetable consumption. It is clear that hating our bodies is not an effective path towards health.
It is time we take control over our health and our own inner dialogues. We are changing the conversation to create a more positive body image for women and men everywhere.
Fat Talk Free Week Aims
The Succeed Foundation along with our key partner Tri Delta (in the U.S) aim to raise the nation’s consciousness about the dangers of "fat talk" and the impact it has on women’s and men’s? body esteem and confidence. The goal of the Fat Talk Free Week initiative is to eliminate fat talk from our lives, regardless of the source. So whether you overhear someone else making a comment to someone about how they look, or your friend asks you to critique how she or he looks, or whether you're doing the critiquing on your own – step back and stop the fat talk.
We can't have a healthy body image if we're engaging in fat talk. So the motto of the campaign is, "Friends don't let friends fat-talk."
Where did Fat Talk Free Week Come From?
This 4th international body activism event was born from Tri Delta’s award-winning body image education and eating disorders prevention program, Reflections. This year The Succeed Foundation adapted the programme for the UK and created The Succeed Body Image Programme, the first evidence-based peer-led body image education and eating disorder prevention programme, which is currently being run at the University of West England.
Eating disorder risk factors, biology and body Image
The Succeed Foundation recognises that eating disorders are multi factorial and heritable disorders with a strong biological basis. Significant research including prospective research, has also identified shape and weight concerns as a potent, replicated and potentially modifiable risk factor for some eating disorders.[Jacobi & Fittig, 2010] Additional research indicates that evidence-based interventions that successfully reduce this risk factor can reduce the onset of some eating disorders. [Stice et al., 2008; Taylor et al., 2006] The Succeed Foundation seeks to reduce the toxic body image environment in our culture via the use of The Succeed Body Image Programme as well as initiatives like Fat Talk Free Week with the aim of making our body image environment healthier for all individuals and more facilitative of recovery for those with eating disorders.
