WeightControl.com Interview with:
Professor Emma Boyland PhD MBA MSc BSc
Chair of Food Marketing and Child Health
Deputy Dean for the Institute of Population Health
University of Liverpool
UK
A new analysis presented at ECO 2026 examines how food environments drive childhood obesity through children’s requests for unhealthy products — and what parents and policymakers can do about it.
WeightControl.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Childhood obesity is a major health concern, and it is driven by food environments that promote and encourage unhealthy diets. One way this happens may be through children pestering their parents to buy unhealthy foods. In this online survey of over a thousand parents, we found over half (58%) reported that their children ‘frequently’ or ‘always’ request foods when shopping, only 4% said they were never pestered. Younger children and those in food insecure households were reported to be more likely to make requests, and the most requested products were ice creams, confectionery, and sweet snacks.
WeightControl.com: What are the main drivers of children requesting unhealthy food products?
Response: Other than being hungry or craving something, the biggest drivers of children requesting unhealthy food products were in-store product placement (e.g., items being placed at checkouts), appealing food packaging (e.g., featuring colourful characters), and food advertising on television and online.
WeightControl.com: What can parents do to limit their children’s exposure to unhealthy food triggers?
Response: Parents reported that negotiating with children was a good way to handle product requests, and they often said no. However, child requests were said to frequently lead to unplanned purchases and leave the parents feeling guilty or distressed. Parents can limit children’s exposure to media advertising and discuss budgeting and shopping lists with their children, but governments also have a responsibility to implement public health policies to reduce the impact of these environmental drivers to make it easier for parents to encourage healthy diets in their children.
Any disclosures?
Prof Christiansen has received research funding to his institution from the American Beverage Association for work on sugar replacement outside of the proposed project. Prof Tatlow-Golden receives consultancy fees from UNICEF to research digital food marketing to children. Prof Vogel has a non-financial research collaboration with a UK supermarket chain. All other authors have no conflicts or potential conflicts of interest to declare.
Citation:
ECO 2026 abstract, May 10, 2026
First-year BMI change after GLP-1-based treatment initiation and risk of subsequent adverse clinical outcomes
Emma Boyland, Anna Coates, Magdalena Muc, Sarah Muir, Mimi Tatlow-Golden, Christina Vogel, Meghan Boyes, Melisa Campbell, Bimpe Oki, Anne Rose, Paul Christiansen
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Last Updated on May 11, 2026 by weightcontrol