Families and Food

Families play a crucial role in their members’ eating behaviors and orientations toward food. For example, responsive parenting practices can promote the development of healthful eating behaviors, and the social and emotional climate of mealtimes can serve as a context for promoting healthful behaviors around food. At the national level, overweight and obesity have reached epidemic levels, and low-income and minority families bear a disproportionate burden. Yet, there is a paradoxical relation between obesity and food insecurity: many low-income communities with high rates of obesity are also considered food deserts ─ with little or no access to fresh produce and nutrient-dense foods. Speakers will discuss the latest research on the role of family in food access, diet, and health as well as policies and programs aimed reducing food insecurity and promoting healthful eating.  For more information and to register, click here.

The Symposium on Family Issues is sponsored annually by The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Penn State sponsors include: Social Science Research Institute; Population Research Institute; Department of Sociology & Criminology; Child Study Center; Department of Human Development & Family Studies; Department of Psychology; Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, & Education; Prevention Research Center; Department of Kinesiology; Department of Biobehavioral Health; Department of Nutritional Sciences; and Clinical and Translational Science Institute.