The Importance of Campaign Saliency as a Predictor of Attitude and Behavior Change: A Pilot Evaluation of Social Marketing Campaign Fat Talk Free Week

Abstract

Fat Talk Free Week (FTFW), a social marketing campaign designed to decrease self-disparaging talk about body and weight, has not yet been evaluated. We conducted a theory-informed pilot evaluation of FTFW with two college samples using a pre- and posttest design. Aligned with the central tenets of the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), we investigated the importance of FTFW saliency as a predictor of fat talk behavior change. Our analytic sample consisted of 118 female participants (83% of original sample). Approximately 76% of the sample was non-Hispanic White, 14% Asian, and 8% Hispanic. At baseline, more than 50% of respondents reported engaging in frequent self fat talk; at posttest, this number dropped to 34% of respondents. Multivariable regression models supported campaign saliency as the single strongest predictor of a decrease in self fat talk. Our results support the social diffusion of campaign messages among shared communities, as we found significant decreases in fat talk among campaign attenders and nonattenders. FTFW may be a promising short-term health communication campaign to reduce fat talk, as campaign messages are salient among university women and may encourage interpersonal communication.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors thank Annabel Chang and the many participants who made this study possible.

FUNDING

This work was supported by the Center for Living, Learning & Leading, Inc., Delta Delta Delta Fraternity, the Ellen Feldberg Gordon Fund for Eating Disorders Research, the Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders (STRIPED) at the Harvard School of Public Health, and the Matina Horner Fellowship at the Harris Center for Education and Advocacy in Eating Disorders at Massachusetts General Hospital. S. Bryn Austin is supported by the Ellen Feldberg Gordon Fund for Eating Disorders Research, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration, grants MC00001 and Leadership Education in Adolescent Health Project 6T71-MC00009.