The Affects of Weight Comments By Significant Others

By Marla E. Eisenberg, Jerica M. Berge, Jayne A. Fulkerson, Dianne Neumark-Sztainer

The study explored differences in reports of hurtful weight-based comments from family and romantic partners across race, socioeconomic status, weight status and weight change, and also examined relationships between weight-based teasing in adolescence and experiencing weight-related commentary 10 years later. Results indicate that hurtful weight-related comments from family members and significant others are commonly experienced during young adulthood by both young men and young women, as they are in adolescence, and that this type of talk tends to persist over time. In addition, the prevalence of this experience was significantly higher among Hispanic young men and Asian young men and women, which is consistent with other literature suggesting that social norms around weight issues differ across racial and ethnic communities (Fitzgibbon, Blackman, & Avellone, 2000; Latner, Stunkard, & Wilson, 2005; Paeratakul, White, Williamson, Ryan, & Bray, 2002). As a result, these groups may be at increased risk of disordered eating and related emotional outcomes. For example, previous research has demonstrated higher rates of binge eating and purging among Hispanic and Asian male adolescents (Croll, Neumark-Sztainer, Story, & Ireland, 2002; Neumark-Sztainer, Story, Falkner, Beuhring, & Resnick, 1999). Further research examining the ways in which cultural norms and values may contribute to weight talk and related behaviors is needed.

As seen previously, overweight and especially obese participants were more likely to receive hurtful weight-related comments, which may take the place of more overt “teasing” behavior in younger age groups (Neumark-Sztainer, Falkner, et al., 2002). The odds of comments by family members were particularly high for obese males compared to young adult men of average weight.

Our finding that weight teasing by family members predicts weight comments by family in young adulthood is not unexpected. Survey items used here did not specify which family members were making comments at each time point, and participants may have been referring to the same people, or at least members of the same group, when responding to these items over time. This finding is consistent with family systems theory, which holds that interactions that occur between family members may lead to sustainable patterns of interactions. In this study it may be the case that young adults who were teased as adolescents continue to experience teasing as they get older because teasing patterns have been established over time (Whitchurch & Constantine, 1993). Alternatively, individuals who are most likely to be sensitive to or disturbed by weight-related comments, and therefore most likely to report them, may continue to report them 10 years later.

This study is among the first to describe weight-related teasing by a significant other in a large sample of young adults. An interesting difference emerged for weight-related comments by a significant other, whereby this experience could be predicted by earlier weight teasing for females but not for males. Specifically, even once they reach a stage of life when they can choose their important peer relationships, women who were teased about their weight as adolescents were more likely to have a romantic partner who also makes hurtful comments about their weight. Several possible explanations may account for these gender differences. First, our measure of teasing in adolescence asks about peers in general, while in young adulthood we assessed comments by a significant other. At baseline, therefore, we captured both same-sex and opposite-sex peer teasing; these may differ for girls and boys, and from weight talk in opposite sex romantic couples (the large majority of the present sample). Second, women may be more attuned to weight-related comments than men, both as adolescents and young adults, and therefore be more likely to notice and report them at both time points. Women may also initiate conversations related to their weight (e.g., “Do these pants make me look fat?”), due to the pervasive nature of fat-talk in adolescence and the important role it plays in young women’s socialization (Nichter, 2000). Third, although socio-cultural pressures for men to achieve an “ideal” body type that is trim and muscular have increased in recent decades (Leit, Pope, & Gray, 2001; Pope, Olivardia, Borowiecki, & Cohane, 2001), the “thin ideal” for women’s bodies is firmly entrenched in Western culture, which may make it seem more socially acceptable for men to comment negatively on their female partners’ weight or shape, than the reverse. Fourth, even at a time in history when most young women do not need to tie themselves to a romantic partner for financial reasons, many still feel tremendous pressure to find a significant other for social reasons (e.g., peer acceptance, social confidence). This cultural norm may lead some women to “settle” for a partner who treats them poorly, such as by making hurtful comments, which could contribute to the gender differences found in this study.

Implications for practice

Previous research on weight-based teasing and comments has positioned these in the context of verbal harassment (Eisenberg & Neumark-Sztainer, 2008) or other damaging family experiences, including emotional abuse and neglect. For example, Taylor et al. (2006), found that higher levels of parental criticism about weight and shape were associated with higher reported emotional abuse and neglect (regardless of the body size), and they suggest that young people who perceive being emotionally abused might live in a family environment where they felt criticized for a variety of things, including weight and shape. The continuation of teasing across adolescence and into young adulthood, when people have more control over who they choose to develop and maintain relationships with, suggests that early teasing may be subjectively internalized (Thompson et al., 1999), and victims of this teasing may come to feel they deserve it and should expect it from those close to them. Appropriate prevention strategies may therefore build on this field and counsel young people, particularly women, to break the cycle of surrounding themselves with people who treat them poorly.

At a broader social level, prevention may also take the form of community-wide campaigns or interventions aimed at reducing weight talk, teasing and comments. Importantly, moving such campaigns into on-line settings (such as social networking sites) maybe a particularly useful strategy for reaching this age group. Prevention efforts through other media channels may also be a critical component of shifting the social environment towards less tolerance of weight-based harassment, as research has indicated that weight teasing and “fat humor” are common in television programming (Himes & Thompson, 2007). Possibilities include working with creators to curb this source of humor, as well as expanding “media literacy” programs with young people to enable them to successfully deconstruct media messages, thereby reducing their impact.