Same meeting. Same buffet table. And yes, both Marcus and Jada are committed to losing weight. There is one major difference: Jada freely describes herself as being on a diet, while Marcus talks about getting into shape.
An interesting facet of weight management is the language that men and women use when talking about their experiences.
It’s especially interesting because so much scientific research has been done on excess weight and related health problems, but very few studies have looked at gender differences regarding the words and language women and men use when talking about weight loss. This is surprising, given that language is such an integral part of life, affecting our ability to understand one another and communicate effectively. Yet although academic scientists have not spent a lot of time looking at the language of weight, Weight Watchers has done extensive internal research on the topic, having talked for many years with both men and women from all over the world. The goal of this chapter is to share the results of that research and to explore the gender differences in the language of weight. Helping both women and men understand these differences can go a long way toward increasing awareness of how word choices have the potential to affect each other’s weight-loss success.
It’s especially interesting because so much scientific research has been done on excess weight and related health problems, but very few studies have looked at gender differences regarding the words and language women and men use when talking about weight loss. This is surprising, given that language is such an integral part of life, affecting our ability to understand one another and communicate effectively. Yet although academic scientists have not spent a lot of time looking at the language of weight, Weight Watchers has done extensive internal research on the topic, having talked for many years with both men and women from all over the world. The goal of this chapter is to share the results of that research and to explore the gender differences in the language of weight. Helping both women and men understand these differences can go a long way toward increasing awareness of how word choices have the potential to affect each other’s weight-loss success.
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