Schwartz served as Co-Director of the Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders from 1996 to 2006.ĭr. in Psychology from Yale University in 1996.
Schwartz is the Director for the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Health at the University of Connecticut. My advice is to study the field that you are most excited by and then see how your expertise can fit into the larger puzzle that we are all trying to solve.ĭr.
I think the great thing about this field is that we need many types of experts – people with degrees in nutrition, economics, policy, psychology, law, and more. That study was entered into the Congressional Record by the Secretary of Agriculture and was covered in many newspapers.ĭo you have any advice for aspiring public health professionals who are interested in food access, nutrition, and policy? It was a great example of why you collect and measure data. I was excited when we found that the proportion of plate waste did not change – which was consistent with other research that came out around the same time. There had been so much speculation and negative press – including attacks on Michelle Obama personally. My favorite research project was the study we did that showed that plate waste did not increase when the nutrition standards for the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act were put into place. For example, it is important to acknowledge how food marketing, food access, food pricing, and the economy play a causal role in these societal challenges.ĭo you have a favorite research project or a project that has had a profound impact on you? I think that the best way to tackle the stigma is to show that this is not about “personal responsibility.” Clearly, there are systemic problems that are at the root of both the rise in obesity and food insecurity. How would you encourage a change in perspective about obesity and food insecurity? There exists a stigma associated with obesity and food insecurity. Finding more ways to connect these two systems would be one way to encourage a holistic, whole-community approach. Interestingly, during the early days of Covid you saw more community approaches, such as sharing information about food pantries while parents were picking up school meals for their children. By improving nutrition in food banks and food pantries, you can reach the whole family with healthy foods. There is clear evidence that the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program help children access healthy foods, which in turn improves their diet quality. I prefer to work within big systems – like schools and the charitable food system. What types of policies and programs would you like to see implemented to help children and families access healthy foods? How would you encourage a holistic, whole-community approach to nutrition and wellness? I felt like I was asking them to fight an uphill battle against a toxic food environment and decided that it would be more efficient to try to change the environment than to treat individual families one at a time. I became interested in studying school meals while I was treating a number of children with obesity. I began my career as a clinical psychologist treating obesity and eating disorders.
How did your interest in public health begin? Have you always been interested in studying nutrition, food access, and school wellness policy? Register to attend her virtual keynote presentation here. Schwartz took the time to share some of her past and present experiences as a public health professional. Schwartz will address recent and current debates surrounding school food and highlight the importance of public health nutrition research to guide policymakers. In her keynote, What’s for Lunch? The Past, Present, and Future of School Nutrition, Dr.
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