Children Food Preferences Archives - World Food Policy Center

E298: Your child is not their weight – a parent’s guide

April 27, 2026

So going back more than 30 years, I was involved in work on childhood obesity. It was a prevalent problem at the time, but little attention was being devoted to children and weight issues. And it was fair to say that the field, as it were, was an academic backwater. Little was known about short and long-term effects of childhood obesity. The social and emotional lives experienced by the children hadn’t really been documented or studied much. There was very little known about treatment or strategies for parents, but thankfully, things are different now. Thanks in part to the work of a number of really innovative people in the field, and one of the most innovative is our guest today, Dr. Joseph Skelton. He’s a professor of pediatrics and founder and director of Brenner Fit. FIT stands for Families in Training, which is the family-based pediatric obesity program at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He’s also editor of the Journal of Childhood Obesity is involved in clinical care, research, education, and community outreach. Dr. Skelton has just published what I think is a really important book through the American Academy of Pediatrics, entitled Your Child Is Not Their Weight: Parenting in a Size Obsessed World. I was asked to review the book and was delighted to see it before it was published and just was so happy to see that such a book existed at all, but such a good quality book at entering the picture. Really a very important advance in our field.

E271: Grappling with digital food and beverage marketing to youth

May 13, 2025

So even the people that follow the topic closely are stunned by the digital landscape that engulfs our children, how quickly it evolves, and the potential social cost. Two people in a unique position to explain all this are our guest today, Jeffrey Chester and Kathryn Montgomery, both from the Center for Digital Democracy. Jeff is executive director of the Center, and Kathryn is its research director and senior strategist, as well as professor emerita of communication at American University. Jeff and Kathryn have been pioneers in this work and have been uniquely strong voices for protecting children.

Related podcasts: Advocacy & Food | Children Food Preferences | Food Industry Behavior & Marketing | Screen time and Food |

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

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.

E113: The Power of Policy and Parents in School Meals

February 11, 2021

It wasn’t that long ago that there was a nutrition free-for-all in schools where sugary beverages, high calorie snack foods, and even things like pizzas and cheeseburgers direct from fast food chains were part of the food landscape in schools. What do you think the situation is today? Has it deteriorated even further? Has it improved or stayed about the same? Today’s guest, Dr. Marlene Schwartz, is a champion for improved nutrition and physical activity in schools and one of the leading experts in the field. Schwartz is director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity and Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Connecticut. She’s an expert on nutrition and physical activity policies in schools and preschools nationwide, and has collaborated in particular with the Connecticut Department of Education on their policies.

E111: Teaching Responsive Feeding to Parents Create Lifelong Healthy Habits in Children

February 4, 2021

There is very interesting work going on the topic of responsive feeding. Our guest today, Dr. Rafael Perez-Escamilla published commentary with several colleagues on feeding practices in the context of nurturing young children. And they began the paper with this statement: “Dietary guidelines provide advice on what to eat “to different subsets of the population, but often do not take into account the how to eat. It turns out that the how is pretty darn important.”

Related podcasts: Child Development & Nutrition | Childhood Obesity | Children Food Preferences | Diet & Nutrition |

E110: Policy and Medical Practice Need to Better Support Breastfeeding

February 2, 2021

Breastfeeding is front and center in discussions of maternal and child health. But optimizing breastfeeding practices is anything but simple. There’s no person better suited to discuss the challenges and opportunities in this area than our guest, Dr. Rafael Perez-Escamilla. Perez-Escamilla is director of the Office of Public Health Practice, and professor of epidemiology and public health at the Yale University School of Public 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.

E81: Time for Universal Free School Meals

July 28, 2020

This podcast is part of series focused on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our food system. When the pandemic forced schools to close, school districts and states scrambled to keep a nutritional safety net working for vulnerable students. Millions of US students rely on school meals and summer feeding programs to get food each day. I am delighted to welcome Janet Poppendieck from the City University of New York Urban Food Policy Institute to this podcast. She is the author of “Free for All: Fixing School Lunch in America.”

Podcast Topic: Children Food Preferences

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Podcast Topic: Children Food Preferences

E298: Your child is not their weight – a parent’s guide

E271: Grappling with digital food and beverage marketing to youth

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

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

E113: The Power of Policy and Parents in School Meals

E111: Teaching Responsive Feeding to Parents Create Lifelong Healthy Habits in Children

E110: Policy and Medical Practice Need to Better Support Breastfeeding

E88: How to Sugarproof Your Kids

E87: The Hidden Dangers of Sugar for your Kids

E81: Time for Universal Free School Meals