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Fear of fat and restrained eating: negative body talk between female friends as a moderator

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Abstract

Purpose

This study examined whether engagement in negative body talk would moderate the association between fear of fat and restrained eating among female friend dyads.

Methods

Female friends (Npairs = 130) were recruited from a Midwestern university in the United States. The dyadic data were examined with an Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM).

Results

Results showed that women’s fear of fat was significantly related to their own restrained eating behaviors. In contrast, women’s fear of fat was not significantly related to their friends’ restrained eating behaviors. Negative body talk was significantly related to restrained eating, as reported by both friends. The interaction between negative body talk and women’s own fear of fat was found to be significant. Although women with less fear of fat showed less restrained eating, engaging in more negative body talk with a friend increased their engagement in restrained eating. Women with more fear of fat engaged in more restrained eating, regardless of their engagement in negative body talk.

Conclusion

Given the detrimental role of body talk between fear of fat and restrained eating, interventions may target reducing body talk among young women.

No level of evidence for

Basic science, Animal study, Cadaver study, and Experimental study articles.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology Department, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI, 48197, USA

    Chong Man Chow & Lilian Ellis

  2. University of Texas-Dallas, Richardson, USA

    Holly Ruhl

  3. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA

    Cin Cin Tan

Authors
  1. Chong Man Chow
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  2. Holly Ruhl
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  3. Cin Cin Tan
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  4. Lilian Ellis
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chong Man Chow.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Appendix: Hypothetical dyadic “double-entry” data

Appendix: Hypothetical dyadic “double-entry” data

 

Person A fear of fat

Person B fear of fat

Person A restraint

Person B restraint

Body talk

Dyad 01

5

4

1

2

3.2

Dyad 01

4

5

2

1

3.2

Dyad 02

3

2

4

3

2.8

Dyad 02

2

3

3

4

2.8

Dyad 03

–

–

–

–

–

Dyad 03

–

–

–

–

–

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Chow, C.M., Ruhl, H., Tan, C.C. et al. Fear of fat and restrained eating: negative body talk between female friends as a moderator. Eat Weight Disord 24, 1181–1188 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-017-0459-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-017-0459-9

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