Don't Mention The F Word

Don't Mention The F Word

Fat, that is. At least not talking about weight or other fat issues is what a campaign is attempting in the US, where Fat Talk Free Week is fast becoming a popular event.

Flickr, Dano

Let's be honest, so many women are obsessed about weight - whether it's how much we want to lose, why we can't lose it or how someone we know has gained or lost a ton of it recently... There's nothing we like more than to have a good old natter about weight issues, is there?

But does it do us any good? That's what body image experts in the States have been asking women to consider. For instance, how often have you heard someone say, "Wow, you look great - have you lost weight?" It's almost as if we talk ourselves into the idea that thin equals good, and therefore fat is bad.

Fat Talk Free Week has been running in the US for the last couple of years. Initially the campaign has been targeting college students, but experts hope it will catch on among the wider population too.

So for just one week every year people are encouraged to overturn the sterotype of the ideal woman being a skinny one. For instance, the campaign's Facebook fan page asks followers to pledge that they'll stop talking about anything to do with weight - so no more moaning about how your jeans make you look fat or how you can only have a yoghurt for lunch because you're counting calories.

It sounds like a refreshing idea to us. But could it work over here? How long could you go without indulging in a spot of fat talk?

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