Interactive role of weight status and fat talk on body dissatisfaction: an observation of women friends.

PURPOSE: The current study examined the interactive role of weight status and fat talk on body dissatisfaction among women friends.

METHOD: Sixty pairs of women friends completed a measure of body dissatisfaction and engaged in an observed fat talk interaction with their friend.

RESULTS: Women's weight status was related to their own, but not their friend's, body dissatisfaction. Observed fat talk was significantly related to individuals' own and their friend's body dissatisfaction. A significant interaction effect showed that the association between fat talk and body dissatisfaction was minimal for women with higher weight status. In contrast, fat talk was associated with more body dissatisfaction for women with lower weight status.

CONCLUSION: These findings suggest the importance of examining the conjoint effect of personal (e.g., weight status) and contextual (e.g., fat talk) factors on body image issues.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: V, cross-sectional descriptive study.