Children's Eating Behavior Laboratory

09/15/2026

Are you looking for a family activity that doesn't center around the television or football?

Come by the Children's Eating and Behavior Lab!

We do studies with children and their families as we look to make our world a little healthier by understanding food choice by children.

Our MEAL-TIME Study is currently running and is wide open for scheduling opportunities!

The SPARK Study should begin within the next month or so*!

MEAL-TIME Screening - https://redcap.ctsi.psu.edu/surveys/?s=MHL3KA9W4TTYW3PJ

SPARK Screening - https://redcap.ctsi.psu.edu/surveys/?s=JLXDMX3XNRKH8CFT

08/18/2026

As the Penn State University approaches the Fall 2026 semester, we are hoping to recruit as many families as we can into our studies!

We specialize in working with children and young families, structuring our experiments to be accessible and easy to understand for parents and fun for the kids!

We are interested in making our world a little bit healthier by understanding why we (as children) make the choices that we do and what the biological and cultural underpinnings for those choices are.

Ultimately, we can't do our work without the willing families that we serve. We understand that being a parent and scheduling in the modern age with modern work schedules can be difficult, but you will be working with a staff that has experience in catering to your families needs!

Below are two studies that have ongoing recruitment, that we would love to see some of our local families screen for!

07/06/2026

Today we would like to highlight our REEU students, Alecx Valdez and Sarah Shuffler!

They have added so much to our lab over the previous 5 weeks and have assisted in the data organization, visit preparation, and experiment ex*****on of our projects.

From Alecx infectious confidence to Sarah's unstoppable curiosity, these two young women are helping us develop experiments we hope will make a difference in our children's lives!

Thank you, both!

(https://foodscience.psu.edu/reeu)

03/24/2026

As we continue to give out our "Spring Flowers", we would like to highlight Alyssa Ching, and her contributions to the lab!

Alyssa has been "in the zone" this semester, routinely coming to the lab in a positive mind frame and doing exceptional work.

She has quickly become an outstanding Child Research assistant, working and communicating effectively with the kids and their parents.

She also helps on the data end, often spot checking other video coders, and helping with our data entry.

Thank you, Alyssa!

03/20/2026

Lauren has been a member of our lab since she was an undergraduate! Now, even as she spends time at Indiana University studying Dentistry, she still makes room for helping our lab!

In our lab, many of our experiments are video recorded to measure the rate of consumption of meals, as well as how the meal is consumed.

Lauren has been instrumental in the coding of these videos so that our scientists can make sense of the data!

03/18/2026

Giving some digital "flowers" to some of our best Research Assistants!

Samantha has been a stalwart for our lab for over 2 years.

She has shown a great ability to work with her peers, her supervisors, and most importantly, the kids who come in for our experiments.

Her even tone and temperament is an excellent asset for our team.

Samantha is someone our lab depends on, and she always delivers!

03/06/2026

https://www.psu.edu/news/health-and-human-development/story/newly-named-child-health-research-center-advance-health-children

Recognizing the interconnectedness of children’s physical, mental and emotional health, the Center for Childhood Obesity Research has been reimagined and renamed the Child Health Research Center to reflect a broader range of child health research initiatives committed to improving child health and...

03/06/2026

From our colleagues!

People selected more food at a virtual reality buffet when there were more food options, demonstrating how food variety may drive overeating, according to a new study by researchers in the Penn State Department of Nutritional Sciences.

03/06/2026

Whenever we take first year students like Jocelyn, one of the things we are looking for is a level of enthusiasm and willingness to spend time in the lab.

Jocelyn routinely has come to the lab with purpose and intent to grow and get better.

She approaches new tasks not with trepidation, but rather a sense of eagerness and 'want to'.

Thank you for all of your efforts, Jocelyn!