Body, weight and diet talk
How you talk about bodies, weight and diets at home, from avoiding weight talk entirely to treating weight as a health measure when a doctor raises it.
How should we talk about bodies, weight and dieting around our child?
In short: Parents choose between 3 main approaches: No weight or diet talk, habits only (AAP 2016); Weight-neutral household; Weight discussed as a health measure, managed if the pediatrician flags it (AAP 2023). Evidence: evidence leans one way. Research or guidance points in a direction, but it's thin, small or correlational. Best settled: school age.
- Evidence
- Evidence leans one way
- Best settled
- School age
- Part of
- Raising the child
Body, weight and diet talk: what are the options?
Parents usually land on one of these 3 approaches.
1. No weight or diet talk, habits only (AAP 2016)
You never discuss weight or dieting, and talk only about healthy habits.
2. Weight-neutral household
No body is praised or criticized for its size in your home.
3. Weight discussed as a health measure, managed if the pediatrician flags it (AAP 2023)
Weight is treated as a health measure and addressed if the doctor raises it.
Body, weight and diet talk: what does the evidence say?
Evidence leans one way. Research or guidance points in a direction, but it's thin, small or correlational. (Leans; treatment approach contested)
Diet and weight talk raise the risk of both obesity and eating disorders; the 2023 obesity guideline drew criticism from eating-disorder groups
Sources
What else is worth knowing?
Children absorb how adults talk about bodies and dieting. Pediatric guidance has advised focusing on healthy habits rather than weight, while also treating obesity as a medical issue. How you talk about your own body counts too.
Questions to ask each other
- How did people talk about weight and food in our families?
- What words do we want to avoid around our child?
- What would we do if the pediatrician raised a concern about weight?
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First published 2026-10-03. Last updated 2026-10-05. General information, not medical advice.