What would you do if you saw a child at school stuffing toast into his backpack so his baby sister could eat, because there was no food at home? With four and a half million children in the UK living in poverty, food insecurity is a growing and deeply concerning issue. It has a profound impact on the health and wellbeing of children and young people.

This week Emma and Christo are joined by Professor Greta Defeyter to go over the effects of food insecurity on child development, the details of food deserts and food swamps, and the practical steps we can take.

Guest: Professor Greta Defeyter OBE is a Professor of Developmental Psychology at the Northumbria University and the founder and director of the Healthy Living Lab.

Hosts: Dr Emma Lim and Dr Christo Tsilifis

Download transcript

This podcast is a collaboration between the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and Odland.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast relates only to the speaker and not necessarily to their employer, organisation, RCPCH or any other group or individual.

Subscribe to The Paeds Round for more educational episodes! And, you can find more RCPCH educational resources on RCPCH Learning.

Want to hear more from RCPCH? Search for and subscribe to RCPCH Podcasts, our main channel.