Journal profile · SOCIAL SCIENCES, INTERDISCIPLINARY
Fat Studies-An Interdisciplinary Journal of Body Weight and Society
ISSN 2160-4851 · eISSN 2160-486X · Taylor & Francis
Fat Studies-An Interdisciplinary Journal of Body Weight and Society: CAS Zone 4 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2 (journal website); JCR Q1 (journal website); hybrid open access; 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 ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Fat Studies-An Interdisciplinary Journal of Body Weight and Society 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, INTERDISCIPLINARY
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
ESCIScopusLetPub
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 ·
- Self-citation rate
- 20%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 16.98%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 30LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 64,000Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 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 ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 56%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 43 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 43 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 119 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review 2025
- 119 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 11 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 11 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication 2025
- 43 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
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
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 ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Fat Studies-An Interdisciplinary Journal of Body Weight and Society
What CAS zone is Fat Studies-An Interdisciplinary Journal of Body Weight and Society in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Fat Studies-An Interdisciplinary Journal of Body Weight and Society 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-An Interdisciplinary Journal of Body Weight and Society?
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-An Interdisciplinary Journal of Body Weight and Society?
The publisher reports about 119 days (first decision after review); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 56% (2025). 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-An Interdisciplinary Journal of Body Weight and Society 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-An Interdisciplinary Journal of Body Weight and Society?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Fat Studies-An Interdisciplinary Journal of Body Weight and Society is indexed in ESCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists PsycINFO; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Fat Studies-An Interdisciplinary Journal of Body Weight and Society open access, and what is the APC?
Fat Studies-An Interdisciplinary Journal of Body Weight and Society is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: 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 2026-08-24). Last updated: .