The 2024 annual meeting of The British Feeding and Drinking Group was hosted jointly by Anglia Ruskin University and Jesus College, University of Cambridge on 4-5 April.
The British Feeding and Drinking Group first met in London in 1975 and is now an international and multi-disciplinary gathering of scientists interested in all aspects of appetite, eating and drinking.
The annual conference welcomes a wide range of academic, clinical and industry-based scientists, including those working in psychology, physiology, medicine, nutrition, food science and related disciplines. The meeting provides an ideal platform for PhD students and early career researchers to showcase their work.
Members of the BFDG from across the world organised an exciting programme of short talks, keynote addresses and research posters.
If you have any questions about the event, email [email protected]
09:00 – 09:10: Welcome – Suzanna Forwood and Amy Ahern
09:10 – 09:20: Reflections on the origins of BFDG - Trevor Robbins
Chair: Suzanna Forwood
09:20 – 09:50: Keynote: Genetics of eating and associated behaviours – Sadaf Farooqi
Chairs: Marion Hetherington and Laura Kudlek
09:50 – 11:00: Obesity and Weight Management:
Chairs: Marion Hetherington and Laura Kudlek
11:00 – 11:50: Poster Session 1 and refreshments
11:50 – 13:00: Emotion Regulation and Eating Behaviour:
Chairs: Amy Ahern and Jordan Beaumont
13:00 – 14:00: Lunch (Lord Ashcroft Building Broad Street Foyer)
14:00 – 15:20: Food Texture, Taste and Satiety:
Chairs: Ciaran Forde and Suzanna Forwood
15:20 – 15:35: Refreshments
15:35 – 16:45: Eating Behaviour in Childhood:
Chairs: Sara Alsilmi and Andrea Smith
16:45 – 16:50: Closing Remarks – Suzanna Forwood and Amy Ahern
17:00 – 18:00: BFDG Business Meeting
19:30: Conference Dinner at Jesus College (Please arrive to be seated before 19:15)
09:00 – 09:10: Welcome back – Suzanna Forwood and Amy Ahern
09:10 – 10:30: Healthy and Sustainable Diets:
Chairs: Florence Sheen and Laura Wilkinson
10:30 – 11:30: Poster Session 2 and refreshments
11:30 – 12:25: Digital Technology and Artificial Intelligence:
Chairs: Charlotte Hardman and Sarah Snuggs
12:25 – 13:25: Lunch (Lord Ashcroft Building Broad Street Foyer)
13:25 – 14:35: Food Policy and Nudges:
Chairs: Jeff Brunstrom and Dani Ferriday
14:35 – 15:05: Keynote: Unhealthy food marketing in the digital age: research and policy challenges – Emma Boyland
Chairs: Jeff Brunstrom and Dani Ferriday
15:05 – 15:15: Closing Remarks – Suzanna Forwood
We are delighted to announce our confirmed speakers for The British Feeding and Drinking Group (BFDG) Annual Meeting.
Genetics of eating and associated behaviours
Sadaf Farooqi is a Wellcome Principal Research Fellow and Professor of Metabolism and Medicine at the University of Cambridge, UK. She is an internationally leading Clinician Scientist who has made seminal contributions to understanding the genetic and physiological mechanisms that underlie obesity and its complications.
The work of Sadaf Farooqi and her colleagues has fundamentally altered the understanding of how body weight is regulated. With colleagues, she discovered and characterised the first genetic disorders that cause severe childhood obesity and established that the principal driver of obesity in these conditions was a failure of the control of appetite.
Her work is often cited as an exemplar of how the translation of research into the mechanisms of disease can lead to patient benefit. She has received a number of awards, including the 2024 Outstanding Clinical Investigator Award from the Endocrine Society. In 2021, she was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in recognition of her exceptional contribution to science.
Unhealthy food marketing in the digital age: research and policy challenges
Emma Boyland is a Professor of Food Marketing and Child Health based in the Department of Psychology at the University of Liverpool, where she is Research Lead for the Department and leads the Appetite and Obesity Research group.
Emma also co-leads the Liverpool Obesity Research Network (a research network of obesity units and research laboratories based across the University of Liverpool, University Hospital Aintree and Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen Hospital Trusts).
She is an experimental psychologist whose studies seek to identify the extent and nature of young people’s exposures to unhealthy food marketing and the impact that this has on their eating and eating-related (e.g., attitudes, purchase) behaviours.
Emma has extensive experience of knowledge exchange and translation, supporting use of evidence to inform policy progress in the UK and internationally.
Emma is an established global leader in her research field and has authored over 135 peer-reviewed journal articles to date, as well as multiple World Health Organization (WHO) reports. She has received more than £4 million in research funding to her institution, from funders including NIHR, the MRC, ESRC, the Wellcome Trust, WHO, and Cancer Research UK.
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The International Sweeteners Association (ISA) is an international non-profit organisation with scientific aims representing suppliers and users of low/no calorie sweeteners, including tabletop sweeteners manufacturers.
Established over 40 years ago, the ISA is recognised by the European Commission, national and international regulatory authorities, and the World Health Organisation, and has Non-Government Observer status with the Codex Alimentarius Commission which establishes international food standards.
The ISA aims to inform and educate on the most up-to-date nutritional and scientific information in relation to the role and benefits of low/no calorie sweeteners, and the foods and beverages that contain them.
The ISA also encourages research into, and enhances understanding of the role that low/no calorie sweeteners can play in achieving a balanced diet.
'PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world.
'PepsiCo generated $70 billion in net revenue in 2020, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that in the UK includes Walkers, Pepsi MAX, Doritos and Quaker. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.
'Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Beverages and Convenient Foods by Winning with PepsiCo Positive (pep+). pep+ is our strategic end-to-end transformation that puts sustainability at the centre of how we will create value and growth by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for planet and people.'
Financial support from sponsors is gratefully received: It helps defray costs, making the meeting more accessible for a diverse audience. Commercial sponsors have no influence on the programme or selection of keynote speakers, and recognition of sponsor support does not imply an endorsement for any specific products or services.