Study Explores If Mothers Should Talk About Weight With Their Young Daughters

A study by researchers at the University of Notre Dame examines how mothers should handle discussions of weight with their young daughters.

Erin E. Hillard, a doctoral student in development psychology at Notre Dame and the lead author of the study, says that “generally, we found that for the daughters who were being encouraged to lose weight by their mothers, outcomes were worse if their mothers were not also discussing their own weight concerns.”

Hillard added that “the daughters who were being encouraged to lose weight but whose moms were not also discussing their own weight concerns were more at risk for development of disordered eating, based on the higher scores on measures of dieting behavior and drive for thinness they reported in eighth grade. The best outcomes were found for daughters whose mothers were not engaging in either type of conversation.”

The article, “In It Together: Mother Talk of Weight Concerns Moderates Negative Outcomes of Encouragement to Lose Weight on Daughter Body Dissatisfaction and Disordered Eating,” was published in the journal Body Image. It may be accessed here.