Biography

Panelist 1 - Julie A. Mennella, PhD, Member, Monell Chemical Senses Center
Dr. Julie A. Mennella obtained a Ph.D. from the Department of Behavioral Sciences at The University of Chicago in Chicago, IL. She subsequently did postdoctoral work on the transfer of volatiles from maternal diet to amniotic fluid and human milk at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, PA. She joined the faculty there in 1990 where she is now a Member. Her major research interests include investigating the timing of sensitive periods in human flavor learning during breastfeeding and formula feeding; uncovering how children are living in different taste worlds than adults and their vulnerabilities to the current food environment; and understanding role of genetics, culture and experience on food choice and habits. In addition to her research, she founded a program at Monell Center that encouraged under-represented minority high school and undergraduate students to pursue careers in science and medicine. Dr. Mennella is the recipient of several grants from the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and is the author or co-author of numerous research papers.

Panelist 2 - Jennifer Orlet Fisher, PhD, Professor, Department of Public Health, Interim Director, Center for Obesity Research and Education, Temple University
Dr. Fisher is a Professor in the Department of Public Health at Temple University and Interim Director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education where she also directs the Family Eating Laboratory. She holds graduate degrees in Nutrition from the University of Illinois (A.M., Nutritional Sciences, 1993) and from the Pennsylvania State University (Ph.D., Nutrition, 1997). Prior to her appointment at Temple University, Dr. Fisher was an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine and scientist at the USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center in Houston TX. Dr. Fisher research focuses on the development of eating behavior during infancy and early childhood. The broad goal of her research is to understand how early eating environments influence food acceptance and appetite regulation as well as growth. Her current research program includes, experimental research on children’s appetite regulation, observational studies of parental influences on snacking among young children, and interventions for low-income mothers around child feeding. Dr. Fisher is Co-Executive Editor of Appetite and on the Editorial Board of Nutrition Reviews. She is an active member of The Obesity Society where she has held a number of leadership positions.

2-149 - Development of Food Preference and Obesity

Session Type: Invited Views by Two

Integrative Statement

View 1 - "You are what your mother eats."
Health initiatives address childhood obesity in part by encouraging good nutrition early in life. In this talk, I will highlight the basic science that revealed sensory experiences, beginning early in life, can shape preferences. Mothers eating diets rich in healthy foods can get children off to a good start since flavors are transmitted from the maternal diet to amniotic fluid and mother’s milk, and experience with such flavors leads to great acceptance of those foods. Evidence will be presented that suggests that early life experiences with healthy tastes and flavors may go a long way toward promoting healthy eating and growth, which could have a significant impact in addressing the many chronic illnesses associated with poor food choice.

View 2 - "You are what your mother says you should eat."
The eating psychology of young children is seemingly uncomplicated—they tend to eat what they like and leave the rest. How then, are healthful eating patterns established? For many foods, acceptance is a dynamic process that reflects taste and temperamental predispositions of the child as well as children’s eating experiences during, following, and surrounding ingestion. Parents and caregivers act as key agents of eating socialization and food acceptance by providing the foods to which children are exposed, acting as social models, and through direct interactions around child feeding. Evidence will be presented to argue that dimensions of children’s social experiences with food are critical to the development of healthy food preferences, choice, and intake.

Sub Unit

• SRCD Biennial Meeting

Moderator

• John Colombo, University of Kansas

Panelists

• Julie Mennella, Monell Chemical Senses Center

• Jennifer O Fisher, Temple University