Marie Claire UK Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Women in Sport 2026
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Spring Summer 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    • Digital Issues
    • Women Who Win
    1. Life

    Women gossip for five hours a day

    Women love nothing more than a good gossip, but new research suggests the average female chats for a total of 298 minutes every day

    By Hannah Thomas
    Published 15 August 2011 In Features

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    Gossiping
    Gossiping
    (Image credit: Rex Features)
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    Women love nothing more than a good gossip, but new research suggests the average female chats for a total of 298 minutes every day

    It’s common knowledge that women love to talk, but did you know that the typical woman spends a third of her day discussing diet, sex and other people’s problems?

    A new report has found that women spend approximately 24 minutes a day discussing their weight, diets and dress size, and 33 per cent of women say they spend a good chunk of their day discussing what they will eat for lunch.

    ‘Women are renowned for their ability to chat and men are fascinated by what they find to talk about when they get together,’ says Steve Barton, spokesman for First Cape who commissioned the study.

    Top of women’s gossip topics are shopping, diet, exercise and holidays. Lunch came in at number six, closely followed by other people’s relationships, children and cosmetic surgery. Complaining about their partner was second from bottom.

    You may like
    • Analog Times - Wine and cards game night on luxurious burgundy fabric - TVS The Gambling Industry's Newest Bet? Women
    • A woman doing yoga in a studio in shorts and a workout bra Experts Say These Are the 9 Healthy Ageing Habits Midlife Women Often Miss
    • This Girl Can New Research Confirms Women's Biggest Barrier to Exercise Isn't Motivation—It's Safety

    ‘I never would have guessed food would be such a hot topic,’ says Mr Barton. ‘And it’s really nice to see that most women are happy to have a quick chat with complete strangers.’

    Gossiping, however, also comes with it’s flaws as 36 per cent of women say they cannot be trusted to keep a friend’s secret and that they regularly tell their partner things they are told in confidence.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    CLICK HERE FOR MORE WORLD NEWS

    Hannah Thomas
    Social Links Navigation
    Read more
    Analog Times - Wine and cards game night on luxurious burgundy fabric - TVS
    Money and Work The Gambling Industry's Newest Bet? Women
    A woman doing yoga in a studio in shorts and a workout bra
    Wellbeing Experts Say These Are the 9 Healthy Ageing Habits Midlife Women Often Miss
     
     
    This Girl Can
    Fitness New Research Confirms Women's Biggest Barrier to Exercise Isn't Motivation—It's Safety
    B _ W - Woman reading book with wine in natural sunlight - TVS
    Culture 9 of Britain's 10 Bestselling Novels Begin With a Dead Woman. I Asked Authors, Literary Experts and a Criminal Behavioural Analyst Why
     
     
    Latest in Life
    Mischa Anouk Smith on an astrology travel trip to Türkiye, where she got engaged less than 24 hours after a birth chart reading.
    Travel I Let Astrology Plan My Holiday—Less Than 24 Hours Later, I Was Engaged
    Wicker husband: Alexander Skarsgård and Olivia Coleman in the new film Wicker
    Relationships Move Over Regular Men and AI Boyfriends, The “Wicker Husband” Has Arrived
     
     
    Relic - Dramatic profile portrait with sculptural lighting and shadows - TVS
    Life I Went to A&E After Trying to Take My Own Life—Here’s Why Andy Burnham's New Mental Health Centres Are a Good Start But Not a Complete Solution
    Cape of Senses Hotel in Lake Garda
    Travel If Slow Luxury Had an Address, It Would Be Cape of Senses—Inside One of Lake Garda's Most Beautiful Hotels
     
     
    Latest in Features
    The Beauty Digest
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: Head Spas, Coco Mademoiselle Reimagined, and What the TPO Ban Really Means
    The long hair trend and the post-bob era
    Hair I’ve Spent Two Years Growing My Bob—Turns Out, There's a Reason Long Hair Is Trending
     
     
    @nlmarilyn in transitional autumn outfits
    Fashion Goodbye Summer Dresses, I'm in Autumn Outfit Planning Mode—These 5 Are Fresh
    Arsenal footballer and Lioness Chloe Kelly
    Health and Fitness Women in Sport 2026: Featuring Chloe Kelly, Elite Beauty Products, Grand Prix 2.0 and So Much More
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.