The University of Liverpool’s Original Ideas podcast returns with a new episode exploring how our diets are shaped by a complex interplay of environmental, psychological and commercial factors.
Episode 10: Food features leading academics from the University of Liverpool whose research spans food policy, public health, geography, psychology and behavioural science. Together, they discuss the impact of ultra-processed food marketing, the built environment, and digital media on what and how people eat.
Host Gavin Freeborn interviews:
- Professor Emma Boyland, Chair of Food Marketing and Child Health, Deputy Executive Dean for the Institute of Population Health and member of the Department of Psychology, Appetite and Obesity research group, whose work explores how commercial food marketing influences children’s dietary choices and contributes to health inequalities.
- Professor Charlotte Hardman, Professor of Psychology of Eating Behaviour, leads Appetite, Addictive Behaviour and Obesity research, focusing on the psychology of food-related behaviours. Her research interests include addressing dietary inequalities, creating healthy food systems, and studying factors influencing food choices and security. She also researches urban food growing, novel sweeteners, and the link between obesity and mental health.
- Dr Becky Evans, is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Appetite and Obesity research group within the Department of Psychology. Her research predominantly focuses on public health, specifically environmental factors influencing eating behaviour. Becky has explored the effects of food marketing on various aspects of eating and evaluated behaviour change strategies such as food labelling to promote healthier diets and junk food advertising in online gaming.
- Professor Mark Green, Professor of Health Geography, Department of Geography & Planning, specialises in the social and spatial factors driving health inequalities. His research explores how neighbourhood characteristics influence health outcomes, utilising big data and machine learning to understand health behaviours and evaluate policy interventions.
Together, the host and guests discuss the powerful and often overlooked influences on public dietary habits. From the pervasive presence of junk food advertising to the role of social media in normalising unhealthy eating patterns. The conversation highlights the pressing need for structural changes in policy and practice to support healthier food environments, particularly for children and communities most affected by economic and health disparities.
The episode also includes insights from local news platform LiverpoolWorld, bringing in wider regional perspectives on food access, affordability, and policy.
The Original Ideas podcast highlights our ground-breaking research and its real-world impact. The series explores different areas of our research activity, why it’s so important and how it can benefit society in the future. Host Gavin talks to inspiring academics, students, and key partners of the University who are striving to shape a better tomorrow.
Listen now to Original Ideas podcast Episode 10: Food
Available on Spotify, Apple and other podcasting platforms.
Find out more about the podcast and explore previous episodes, including Popular Music, Artificial Intelligence, Feminist Cities and Air Pollution.