Weight talk and its association with disordered eating in children and adolescents: a meta-analysis

Introduction Disordered eating has become increasingly prevalent among children and adolescents, with weight talk identified as a potential contributing factor. Method This meta-analysis examined the strength and nature of this relationship using a three-level model across 460 effect sizes and examined potential moderators related to the characteristics of weight talk, types of disordered eating, and characteristics of sample. Results Results indicated a small but significant positive association between weight talk and disordered eating ( r = 0.27). Moderation analyses revealed that characteristics of weight talk and types of disordered eating significantly influenced this relationship. In particular, the strongest associations were observed when weight talk was negative, targeted both the listener and oneself, originated from the self, and involved mixed forms of weight talk (i.e., comments, teasing, and encouragement to lose weight). The association was most pronounced for variables related to anorexia and bulimia. In contrast, participant characteristics such as age, gender, ethnicity, and country were not significant moderators. However, the sample was predominantly female and White, limiting the generalisability of the findings. Conclusion These findings highlight the importance of addressing weight talk in prevention and intervention efforts to reduce disordered eating among children and adolescents.