My research encompasses many aspects of paediatric nutrition, but has a particular focus on the role of early nutrition in the development of childhood obesity.  Infant and young child nutrition has a key role in obesity development.   Mechanisms are not fully understood, but appetite is widely accepted to be influential.  To better understand this I am investigating appetite development in infants and young children and its relationship with subsequent obesity.

It is well known that obesity development begins early in life.  Almost 1 in 4 children starts school already overweight.  Once established, obesity is very hard to reverse.  Therefore, interventions to prevent obesity should begin early in life.  A second major area of my research is obesity prevention which I am addressing through the development of interventions.  These include 1) interventions in infancy to inform feeding practice 2) interventions in preschool children to prevent obesity development and 3) interventions in school aged children to manage overweight and obesity.