Journal profile · Social Sciences-Cultural Studies
Fat Studies
ISSN 2160-4851 · eISSN 2160-486X · Taylor & Francis
Fat Studies: CAS Zone 4 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2 (journal website); JCR Q1 (journal website); subscription journal; APC charged, amount not published; review about 119 days (first decision after review, publisher); acceptance rate 56% (journal website); 38 articles in 2025; indexed in Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Fat Studies is published by Taylor & Francis and is in Zone 4 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Obesity and Health Practices, Diversity and Impact of Dance and Eating Disorders and Behaviors, together about 63.4% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Fat Studies is the first academic journal in the field of scholarship that critically examines theory, research, practices, and programs related to body weight and appearance. Content includes original research and overviews exploring the intersection of gender, race/ethnicity, sexuality, age, ability, and socioeconomic status. Articles critically examine representations of fat in health and medical sciences, the Health at Every Size model, the pharmaceutical industry, psychology, sociology, cultural studies, legal issues, literature, pedagogy, art, theater, popular culture, media studies, and activism. Fat Studies advocates equality for all people regardless of body size. It explores the way fat people are oppressed, the reasons why, who benefits from that oppression and how to liberate fat people from oppression. Fat Studies seeks to challenge and remove the negative associations that society has about fat and the fat body. It regards weight, like height, as a human characteristic that varies widely across any population. Fat Studies is similar to academic disciplines that focus on race, ethnicity, gender, or age. Publication office: Taylor & Francis, Inc., 530 Walnut Street, Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106 .
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Social Sciences-Cultural Studies
Editor-in-chief Carla A. PfefferPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Obesity and Health PracticesHealth Professions38.7%
- Diversity and Impact of DancePsychology16.7%
- Eating Disorders and BehaviorsPsychology8%
- Culinary Culture and TourismAgricultural and Biological Sciences3.9%
- Posthumanist Ethics and ActivismSocial Sciences3.8%
- Gender, Feminism, and MediaSocial Sciences3%
- Obesity, Physical Activity, DietMedicine2.9%
- Body Contouring and SurgeryMedicine2.7%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q1 · best quartile · 2025
- CiteScore Q1 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
ScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
PsycINFOPublisher website
Other: ProQuest, EBSCOhost
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.4LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 2.4Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.37LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.37Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.82LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 0.82Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 30OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 113OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.46OpenAlex ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Volume
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 64,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 568 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 36 | 9 | 5 |
| 2025 | 38 | 19 | 48 |
| 2024 | 24 | 5 | 90 |
| 2023 | 20 | 5 | 60 |
| 2022 | 104 | 77 | 140 |
| 2021 | 60 | 9 | 626 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
119 daysfirst decision after review
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 56%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 43 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 119 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 11 daysPublisher website ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Subscription journalLetPub
A subscription journal: articles are read by subscription or purchase, and authors usually pay no publication charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Hybrid open access journal, part of Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program Model summary
Fat Studies is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverability and readership …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Rigorous peer review for every open access article Model summary
Rigorous peer review for every open access article
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- ISSN
- 2160-4851
- Electronic ISSN
- 2160-486X
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 15, Issue 2 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Fat Studies
What CAS zone is Fat Studies in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Fat Studies is in Zone 4 of Sociology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Fat Studies?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 2 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 2.4, h-index 30.
How long does peer review take at Fat Studies?
The publisher reports about 119 days (first decision after review); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 56%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What JCR quartile is Fat Studies in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q1 (best quartile). JCR quartiles are Clarivate's to confirm and a different system from the CAS zones; in the CAS ranking the journal is in Zone 4 of Sociology.
Which databases index Fat Studies?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Fat Studies is indexed in Scopus. The journal's website also lists PsycINFO; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Fat Studies open access, and what is the APC?
Fat Studies is a subscription journal. APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .