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I received my Ph.D. in Anthropology in 2002 from the Department of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, PA, in the US. I also did some of my dissertation research at at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia. My research to date has focused on picky eating in children and adults. Presently, I occasionally teach courses at Penn, usually topical seminars with a focus on writing. I am particularly interested in taking part in bridging the gap between academic anthropology and students' real-world experiences (see Public Interest Anthropology at Penn ) in the classes I teach. I am currently working on a number of research projects, including an examination of people's feelings about eating.
I am interested in how people -- from very young children to adults -- conceive of what is food vs. non-food and how they go about making decisions as to what to eat or how they define what is edible on a daily basis. Additionally, my research interests include individuals' feelings about food and eating. This research focus has grown over several years from my initial interest in the feeding habits of non-human primates. The question that brings me to both of these research topics is how do young animals, in particular omnivores such as primates (including humans), acquire appropriate knowledge of the "food universe"?
The development of food selection is of interest from an evolutionary standpoint because the infant mammal, the juvenile mammal, and the adult mammal each have different problems to solve when it comes to food selection. My interest in this subject is guided by an initial curiosity about the differences in the problems faced by omnivorous mammals across development. This interest has evolved to include the origin of processes for food selection operating during human development.Picky eating is a common complaint of parents at visits to pediatricians’ offices. Preliminary data from my cross-cultural study show that many pediatricians feel that parents are at least somewhat, and often very concerned about their child’s picky eating behaviors. These behaviors may cause conflicts during mealtimes and that may result in long-term stress between children and their parents. Also, it may be the case that early conflicts over food and eating may lead to dysfunctional beliefs about food which can be harmful to both the individual and to the family superstructure.
One of my areas of study is the development of food selection in children in the post-weaning years. My particular interest is picky eating. This behavior is common in children in the United States. These children eat only a small number of different kinds of foods, or eat only in very special situations, or will not eat mixed food, or foods that touch each other on the dish… or any number of other “versions” of picky eating. In the United States it usually occurs between ages 2 and 8 years, but from my research it looks as if this age range is much too narrow and that children well into puberty also do show this behavior, though in smaller numbers. This very limited food selection does not usually have any serious health consequences. However, it often causes conflict between parents and children, frequently to the point of causing emotional distress at mealtimes.
My research in this area has several focal points. One study is examining the cross-cultural distribution of picky eating in children. I have gathered data about children’s eating habits from pediatric healthcare professionals, as well as parents, from as many countries as possible. There is almost no information in the scientific literature on this subject. I wish to demonstrate that picky eating is a common – and, importantly, “normal” – stage in general development, and therefore might be described as a universal trait, though not seen in all children in any given population. Also, I am gathering more detailed information about individual children with questionnaires for parents. Finally, my colleagues and I have completed some initial studies on the ranges of foods eaten by adults in the U.S. In this research, we characterize the phenomenon of extremely restricted eating by otherwise healthy individuals.
Adult Picky Eating
Over the last several years, my interests in eating behavior have expanded to include--and focus upon--adult eating behavior. My research on picky eating has expanded to include examinations of cultural and psychosocial factors which may be specifically related to picky eating. My research on adult picky eating has been useful in delimiting some of the psychological factors that may relate to picky eating.
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useful links:
Penn Anthropology Dept.
Penn Psychology Dept.
Penn Library homepage
Penn homepage
News in Brain and Behavioural Sciences (NIBBS)
American Anthropological Association (AAA)
Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB)
American Psychological Association (APA)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Pedinfo.com, pediatric information online library
Society for Pediatric Research and American Pediatric Society
American Academy of Pediatrics
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