Addiction & Food Archives - Page 2 of 3 - World Food Policy Center

E150: What Food Policy Advocates Can Learn from Tobacco Industry Strategies

December 2, 2021

This is “The Leading Voices in Food” podcast but today we’re speaking with a leading voice in tobacco control. “How come,” you might ask, “why?” So I believe for many years that the parallels between the tobacco industry and food industry practices are nothing short of stunning, and that our field would do very well to learn lessons learned from the pioneers in the tobacco wars. Our guest today is Dr. Kenneth Warner, Distinguished Emeritus Professor and former Dean of the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan. Ken’s research focuses on the economic and policy aspects of tobacco and health.

E149: “We’ve had it backwards” – New model explains weight gain and obesity

November 27, 2021

A paper just released in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition challenges, and I mean really challenges conventional thinking about nutrition, weight gain, and what has caused the very rapid and profound increase in obesity rates over the last 50 years. This is a landmark paper by any standard, and saying that it will raise eyebrows is an understatement. The paper is authored by a number of distinguished nutrition scientists. The lead author is Dr. David Ludwig from Harvard University.

E148: Weight Loss Study Drives New Insight into Role of Carbohydrates

November 16, 2021

For nearly 70 years now, Americans have been bombarded with advice on how to lose weight. Countless diet books have become bestsellers. Some diets like Atkins keep coming back in sort of a recycled way. And there really hasn’t been agreement, even among nutrition scientists, about which approach is best. Lots of attention has focused in recent years on carbohydrates, but over the years, protein and fat have had plenty of attention. In this podcast, our guest, Dr. David Ludwig of Harvard University, discusses this history and the reason for re-envisioning how best to lose weight – and for people to maintain the weight loss, perhaps the most important issue of all. Ludwig recently published a landmark, exquisitely designed and controlled study that tests whether limiting carbohydrates actually makes sense. This study, published in the “American Journal “of Clinical Nutrition 2021,” has been generating lots of attention.

E144: New York’s Successful Model for Reducing Sugar and Salt

October 4, 2021

How much sugar and salt do you and others eat each day? What are reasonable and healthy amounts? And when does it become too much? It’s a serious question, given that diet is a key driver for health conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease. The National Salt and Sugar Reduction Initiative, the NSSRI, is working to make it easier for people to make healthy choices. Today’s guest is Andrea Sharkey, a project manager in the Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, an agency long known for its innovation in this area. Andrea coordinates the National Salt and Sugar Reduction Initiative and is going to explain why education, consumer behavior changes, and policies can help our community stay healthy.

E129: An Eating Addiction Revealed – Susan Burton on Empty

May 18, 2021

People who fight against anorexia and binge eating also struggle with secrecy, isolation and shame. Eating disorders such as these are incredibly powerful and relentless forces in the lives of an estimated 70 million people both male and female, by the way, according to the National Eating Disorders Association. For almost 30 years, author and storyteller Susan Burton of the hugely popular public radio program “This American Life” hid her obsession with food and the secret life of compulsive eating and starving that dominated her adolescence. She recently published a memoir entitled “Empty” as a way to confront her disordered eating and claim the recovery that comes from telling her story.

Related podcasts: Addiction & Food | Chefs & Food Writers | Eating Disorders |

E99: How Soda Taxes Can Drive Equity and Community Wellbeing

November 17, 2020

Soda taxes now exist in about 50 countries around the world and in a number of US cities. They raise lots and lots of money. How would you suggest that the revenues be used? This podcast focuses on the connection between sugar-sweetened beverage taxes and racial and social equity. We’re speaking today with a champion of community-driven approaches to health equity and environmental justice. My guest is Xavier Morales, the executive director of The Praxis Project, the national organization headquartered in Oakland and dedicated to supporting communities, building power for health.

E88: How to Sugarproof Your Kids

September 18, 2020

This is the second of two podcasts with the authors of the new book Sugarproof, The Hidden Dangers of Sugar that are Putting Your Child at Risk and What You Can Do. Our first podcast offered a fascinating view of the effects of sugar on children and this podcast will discuss what might be done. University of Southern California’s Michael Goran leads the program in Diabetes and Obesity at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, his co-author Emily Ventura is a nutrition educator, public health advocate, writer and cook.

E87: The Hidden Dangers of Sugar for your Kids

This is the first of two podcasts with the authors of a new book entitled, Sugarproof: The Hidden Dangers of Sugar that are Putting Your Child’s Health at Risk and What You Can Do. This podcast will cover the wide-ranging effects of sugar on children, and the second podcast will address what can be done in the home and with policy. University of Southern California, Michael Goran, leads the program in diabetes and obesity at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles. His co-author, Dr. Emily Ventura, is a nutrition educator, public health advocate, writer and cook.

E73: Weight Stigma 101 with Rebecca Pearl

February 3, 2020

People who experience weight discrimination are more likely to gain more weight over time than people with obesity who don’t describe these kinds of experiences. Weight bias, stigma and discrimination have received more and more attention among researchers, but also in the public. Think, for example, of the term “fat shaming.” Among the researchers doing path-breaking work in this area is Dr. Rebecca Pearl at the Perlman School of Medicine. Her research focuses on weight bias and its associated outcomes in patients with obesity.

E71: Louise Metz on Weight Inclusive Medical Care

January 27, 2020

Weight stigma, bias and discrimination can have very profound impacts on individuals. Medical settings are a place where there are real opportunities to make change and today’s guest, Dr. Louise Metz is a change maker. She is passionate about providing weight-inclusive medical care, and committed to helping to change the paradigm surrounding the way we address weight and health.

Podcast Topic: Addiction & Food

The Leading Voices in Food

Podcast Topic: Addiction & Food

E150: What Food Policy Advocates Can Learn from Tobacco Industry Strategies

E149: “We’ve had it backwards” – New model explains weight gain and obesity

E148: Weight Loss Study Drives New Insight into Role of Carbohydrates

E144: New York’s Successful Model for Reducing Sugar and Salt

E129: An Eating Addiction Revealed – Susan Burton on Empty

E99: How Soda Taxes Can Drive Equity and Community Wellbeing

E88: How to Sugarproof Your Kids

E87: The Hidden Dangers of Sugar for your Kids

E73: Weight Stigma 101 with Rebecca Pearl

E71: Louise Metz on Weight Inclusive Medical Care