Podcast Topic: Childhood Obesity
The Leading Voices in Food
Podcast Topic: Childhood Obesity
E77: School Meals During a Pandemic – What Works with Katie Wilson
June 3, 2020
About 33 million children access school meals every day across the country. Today, we’re exploring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young students: children who receive much needed nutrition through their school. We interviewed Dr. Katie Wilson, executive director of the Urban School Food Alliance. The Urban School Food Alliance is a nonprofit coalition of the largest school districts in the U.S, including New York, LA, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Boston.
Related podcasts: Advocacy & Food | Child Development & Nutrition | Childhood Obesity | Children Food Preferences | COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts on Food | Diet & Nutrition | Equity, Race & Food Justice | Food Insecurity | Food Policy | School Meals |
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.
Related podcasts: Addiction & Food | Childhood Obesity | Diet & Nutrition | Eating Disorders | Weight Stigma |
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.
Related podcasts: Addiction & Food | Childhood Obesity | Diet & Nutrition | Eating Disorders | Obesity |
E67: Weight Bullying Backfires and Causes Harm
Stigmatizing people based on factors such as race and sexual identity is being tolerated less and less. But what about stigmatizing people with issues that some believe are under personal control, such as use of drugs and alcohol or obesity? Can negative attitudes encourage people to change? Dr. Janet Tomiyama explains.
Related podcasts: Addiction & Food | Childhood Obesity | Diet & Nutrition | Eating Disorders | Obesity |
E51: Neena Prasad on the Sound Benefits of Soda Taxes
October 2, 2019
Imagine you’ve come to work for a major foundation and were asked to create a program on obesity prevention. With the vast array of possible things one might do, how in the world would you choose what might have the most impact, and what would be the most cost effective? This was the task of our guest Dr Neena Prasad, who joined Bloomberg Philanthropies in 2008.
Related podcasts: Childhood Obesity | Food Policy | Obesity | Soda Taxes | Ultra-processed Food & Additives |
E48: Maureen Black on Lasting Impact of Food Insecurity on Children
September 23, 2019
It is well known, and has been for many years, how prevalent food insecurity is in the U.S. and elsewhere. People are especially moved when they think of children who are malnourished. Our guest Dr Maureen Black is one of the world’s leading experts on nutrition and its impact on the health and development of children and on how to reduce health disparities by improving child nutrition.
Related podcasts: Child Development & Nutrition | Childhood Obesity | Children Food Preferences | Diet & Nutrition | Food Insecurity | Food Policy | Obesity |
E46: Charlie Cart’s Carolyn Federman on Food, Fun, and Classrooms
September 10, 2019
Americans have become distant from their food. It was once the case that people either grew food themselves or perhaps, just one step away from it, buying food from farmers or from markets served by local farmers, but boy, is it ever different now. Food is processed, it’s shipped long distances, and people are less in touch with how food is created, how to cook it, and more. There are some impressive efforts underway to help correct this problem. Some of the more impressive ones that focused on children such as the work of Carolyn Federman, the inspiration behind a highly innovative program known as Charlie Cart.
Related podcasts: Chefs & Food Writers | Child Development & Nutrition | Childhood Obesity | Children Food Preferences | Diet & Nutrition | School Meals |
E40: Cruel Impact of Weight Stigma
June 20, 2019
Think back to your time in school and try to remember how the overweight children were treated. It is possible that you were the subject of such treatment, but if not, imagine how this would feel and whether such experiences could have an indelible impact. What are the consequences of such treatment then and later in life? When people think of stigma, bias, discrimination factors such as gender, race, and age come to mind for most people, but not necessarily weight. And weight bias is a very important topic and has been the subject of an impressive body of research.
Related podcasts: Childhood Obesity | Obesity | Weight Stigma |
E41: Combatting Weight Bias
In an earlier podcast with Dr. Rebecca Puhl, she described the nature extent and impact of weight bias on the lives of individuals was described and clear and very moving ways. Dr. Puhl, professor of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Connecticut, and deputy director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, is a leading researcher and an agent for change on this important topic. She’s kindly agreed to speak with us on this podcast on what might be done to prevent weight stigma when it does occur and how to reduce its impact.
Related podcasts: Childhood Obesity | Obesity | Weight Stigma |
E44: Chile’s Health Strategy: Warning Labels, Soda Taxes, and Marketing Limits
June 14, 2019
So what happens when a country gets really serious…REALLY serious about tackling diet, nutrition, and chronic disease? Is there a country in the world that stands out for taking the most imaginative and strongest action? The answer is yes, and a person who knows a lot about this is our guest Barry Popkin.
Related podcasts: Childhood Obesity | Food Industry Behavior & Marketing | International Food & Ag Policy | Obesity | Soda Taxes |

E73: Weight Stigma 101 with Rebecca Pearl
E71: Louise Metz on Weight Inclusive Medical Care
E67: Weight Bullying Backfires and Causes Harm
E51: Neena Prasad on the Sound Benefits of Soda Taxes
E48: Maureen Black on Lasting Impact of Food Insecurity on Children
E46: Charlie Cart’s Carolyn Federman on Food, Fun, and Classrooms
E40: Cruel Impact of Weight Stigma
E41: Combatting Weight Bias
E44: Chile’s Health Strategy: Warning Labels, Soda Taxes, and Marketing Limits