“I was four or five years old when it happened. I was running in and out of the waves at the beach when my mom called me over to her and told me to stand sideways. She tutted me and then said that I would look so much better if I could just lose my belly. I felt horrible.”

“My mom was always talking about weight. She’d say she was too fat. I was too fat. My sisters were too fat. Then she would say it was our curse and make a huge meal while encouraging us to eat every bite. Eating together was both fun and stressful because we were never free from the inner prison warden constantly criticizing our weight.”

“My mom still comments on my weight. It is the first thing she talks about when I see her. It is exhausting, and I find myself avoiding her even though I know she’s older, alone, and needs me more than ever.”

These are just some of the comments I have heard. Similar accounts are repeated in my office and among friends—with mothers bearing the brunt of the blame for causing eating disorders and body dissatisfaction (among other things). However, society at large may be equally or more to blame when it comes to the detrimental consequences of fat talk and old talk.

Fat talk is ubiquitous and even in the common joke, “Does this dress make me look........

© Psychology Today