#47 - The Psychology of Eating: How Children Develop Their Relationship with Food with Professor Jane Ogden

About this episode

This episode explores the psychological factors influencing children's eating habits with Professor Jane Ogden.

Have you ever wondered why your child’s eating habits can feel so difficult to manage, even when you know what healthy eating should look like? In this week's episode, I am joined by Professor Jane Ogden, Professor of Health Psychology at University of Surrey, whose work has shaped how we understand the psychological and behavioural factors behind how and why we eat. Professor Ogden has published over 280 research papers and authored a number of books, including several focused specifically on eating behaviour. Alongside her research, she has taught topics related to eating behaviour to students across psychology, medicine, nutrition and related fields for over three decades. Professor Ogden has recently published her latest book  How to Eat Well at Every Age, published by Routledge, and in this episode we explore some of the key ideas from the book together with insights from her wider research. 🎙️ In this episode, we discuss: ✅ What eating well means and why eating is shaped by more than nutrition ✅ Why children develop different eating habits and how these patterns form early ✅ What it means to be a “good food parent” ✅ The difference between overt and covert…

People in this episode

Host: Dr Anna York-Weaving

Guest: Professor Jane Ogden

Topics covered

• children's eating habits
• psychology of eating
• parenting and food
• eating behavior
• health psychology

Keywords

• eating habits
• food parenting
• fussy eating
• body image
• nutrition

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Surrey

Books & works: How to Eat Well at Every Age

More episodes of Academic Coaching for Parents with Dr Anna York-Weaving

• #46 - Understanding Disconnection in Children and How Parents Can Help with Amber Chandler · June 2, 2026 · 56 min
• #45 - Struggling to Support Your Child During Exams? A Practical Guide to Revision Season · May 13, 2026 · 15 min
• #44 - How to Teach Critical Thinking to Teenagers in a World of Social Media & Misinformation with Dr Maree Davies · May 7, 2026 · 57 min
• #43 - GCSE & A-Level Exam Stress: Is Your Child Revising Properly? · March 25, 2026 · 10 min
• #42 - Why Working Less Makes You More Productive with Alex Soojung-Kim Pang · March 13, 2026 · 1h 18m
• #41 - Is My Child Lazy? Why Students Avoid Work and What Actually Helps · March 6, 2026 · 13 min