Child Development & Nutrition Archives - World Food Policy Center

E204: The troubling unknowns of non-caloric sweeteners

May 4, 2023

As a society, we are eating and drinking low-calorie sweeteners more and more. Researchers are working to understand the long-term impact of such sweeteners for adults and, of course, for children. This interview is part of a series on the impact of sweeteners. Our guest today is Dr. Allison Sylvetsky, Associate Professor in the Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences at the George Washington University – Milken Institute School of Public Health.

E203: It works – Chile’s Law on Food Labeling and Marketing

April 18, 2023

In 2016, the Chilean government implemented a comprehensive set of obesity prevention policies aimed at improving the food environment for children. Results from a multi-year study of that regulation, published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, can now tell us if Chilean children are better off as a result of the policy. Guests on this podcast include: Dr. Gabriela “Gabi” Fretes. She is an Associate Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute. Dr. Camila Corvalan is the Director of the Center for Research in Food Environments and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases Associated with Nutrition at the University of Chile. And, Dr. Sean Cash is an economist, Associate Professor of Agriculture, Food, and the Environment, and the Bergstrom Foundation Professor in Global Nutrition at Tufts University

E197: USDA plans for online WIC Benefits

February 28, 2023

In February, 2023, the US Department of Agriculture announced plans to streamline and modernize WIC – the Women Infants and Children Program focused on supplemental nutrition. We’ll talk about the future of WIC today with Stacy Dean, the Deputy Undersecretary for USDA’s Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services.

E190: Insights from 2nd Global Survey of School Meals

December 13, 2022

School meal programs provide children with needed meals, snacks, and even take home foods throughout the world. These programs have a tremendous impact on children’s overall nutrition, physical, and emotional development, and their academic performance, as you can imagine. Much can be learned from a project that is entitled The Global Survey of School Meal Programs. Today we will be speaking about the second such survey with Global Child Nutrition Foundation Research Coordinator, Ayala Wineman, from Michigan State University.

Related podcasts: Child Development & Nutrition | Equity, Race & Food Justice | Food Insecurity | School Meals |

E169: Ending Childhood Malnutrition is Within our Grasp

June 1, 2022

So what percentage of the world’s children do you believe suffer from physical or mental stunting due to nutrition and food shortages? How lasting do you think these effects are and what can be done? Today’s guest is Sharman Russell, author of the new book, Within Our Grasp: Childhood Malnutrition Worldwide and the Revolution Taking Place to End It. Among the reviews for the book, The Sunday Times of London said “Every page holds a revelation.”

E145: A Strategy to Improve SNAP Impact Through the Next Farm Bill

October 12, 2021

In 2023, the U.S. will reauthorize the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, as part of the massive Farm Bill. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 lockdowns and unprecedented innovations to SNAP benefits and delivery, what should the future program look like? As one of the country’s most important social safety nets, SNAP is a proven policy for stabilizing the economy, lifting Americans out of poverty, reducing food insecurity, and improving health while also reducing healthcare costs. In anticipation of this reauthorization, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Healthy Eating Research Program published a new report entitled “Strengthening the Public Health Impacts of SNAP: Key Opportunities for the Next Farm Bill.” The report identified the evidence-based changes that have the greatest potential to improve SNAP participants’ nutrition and their overall health. And the stakes on this are really high because the lives of so many people are affected. Today, we’ll be talking with Duke University’s Megan Lott, deputy director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Healthy Eating Research Program, and coauthor Catherine Woteki, former under secretary for the USDA’s Research, Education, and Economics mission areas, who is now on the faculty of Iowa State University and at the University of Virginia, and she’s also the president of the Charles Valentine Riley Memorial Foundation.

E136: When North Carolina Schools Offer Free Meals Academic Success Follows

August 19, 2021

For youngsters in school, nutritional meals really do lead the higher grades and better performance across the board. Today we’ll explore a policy called the Community Eligibility Provision or CEP that allows schools in low-income areas to offer free meals to all students. We have two guests today. Marianne Hedrick Weant, Programs Manager at the North Carolina Alliance for Health and Dr. Sarah Crittenden Fuller, Research Associate Professor at The University of North Carolina and a proud Duke alum from our own program. She’s also the coauthor of a new policy brief on this topic, entitled Meals Matter, The Community Eligibility Provision and Students’ Success in North Carolina.

E134: How Big Data is Fueling Youth Obesity

July 13, 2021

America’s children and teenagers spend tremendous amount of time on the internet and never more than during the Coronavirus pandemic, with families at home so much, people ordered food, got news and engaged with family and friends online. Youngsters whose schools closed relied on YouTube for educational videos, attended virtual classes on Zoom and to Google Classroom and flocked to TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram for entertainment and social interaction. The cost of digital immersion has a serious health downside however, because the nation’s youth have been exposed to a steady flow of marketing for fast foods, soft drinks, and other unhealthy products. Today we’ll be discussing a new report from the Center For Digital Democracy entitled, “Big Food, Big Tech, and the Global Childhood Obesity Pandemic.”

E125: Women, Food Insecurity and the Feminization of Poverty in the US

April 14, 2021

Hunger affects all communities, but you may not know that 40% of single mothers struggle with food security. Women dominate our central workforce, yet they face persistent structural barriers to food security and economic stability. COVID-19 has only exacerbated these challenges. Today, Abby J. Leibman, President and CEO of MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, discusses the urgent and unique needs single mothers face, and the work she’s leading to advance the anti-hunger movement.

E114: Why Nutrition is So Important In the First 1000 Days of Life

February 16, 2021

At a conference on early child development and nutrition – comprised of leading experts on brain development, child development and public policy – one of the most memorable things said, in my mind, was that “poor nutrition early in life confers a life sentence.” Those striking words were issued by today’s guest, Dr. Michael Georgieff the Executive Vice Chair of Pediatrics and head of the Neonatology Division at the University of Minnesota.

Podcast Topic: Child Development & Nutrition

The Leading Voices in Food

Podcast Topic: Child Development & Nutrition

E204: The troubling unknowns of non-caloric sweeteners

E203: It works – Chile’s Law on Food Labeling and Marketing

E197: USDA plans for online WIC Benefits

E190: Insights from 2nd Global Survey of School Meals

E169: Ending Childhood Malnutrition is Within our Grasp

E145: A Strategy to Improve SNAP Impact Through the Next Farm Bill

E136: When North Carolina Schools Offer Free Meals Academic Success Follows

E134: How Big Data is Fueling Youth Obesity

E125: Women, Food Insecurity and the Feminization of Poverty in the US

E114: Why Nutrition is So Important In the First 1000 Days of Life