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In this episode, Greg Dickens and I discuss recent news on how children’s willingness to take risks during play affects how they take risks when crossing the road. We talk about air pollution and about the recently renamed ‘PCOS’ (now Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome). We talk about how ultraprocessed food reprograms taste preferences, and how certain probiotics affect that. We then discuss our recent article on satiety – helping children to feel full. Finally, we discuss what to do if your toddler doesn’t want to consume anything other than milk.

For more information on how to set children up to recognise when they are full, see this article: https://guenbradbury.substack.com/p/how-do-we-help-children-stop-eating

For more information on picky eating, see this article: https://guenbradbury.substack.com/p/why-arent-all-children-picky-eaters

My veterinary degree taught me about mammalian body systems.

My career in health research taught me about Western health and Western bodies.

Spending 18 months living with my three children in remote African and South American communities taught me about human health and human bodies in other cultural environments.

I share what I’ve learned about child physical health and development in weekly articles and podcast episodes.

Everything is free, but if you find my work useful and would like to show your support, you can now upgrade – completely optional, always appreciated.

Topics covered

* How children’s risk willingness affects their ability to cross roads

* When air pollution affects children most, and what we can do

* Why PCOS has been renamed

* How ultraprocessed food affects taste preferences in children, and what probiotics do to this

* How children learn to feel full

* How to help older babies satisfy their hunger with food rather than milk

Recent episodes

Notes

The developmental importance of risky play: A cross-national virtual reality study: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272494426001635

Prenatal and early life exposure to air pollution and lung function development aged 8-24 years: The ALSPAC study: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935126006080

Polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, the new name for polycystic ovary syndrome: a multistep global consensus process: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(26)00717-8/fulltext

Early Exposure to High-Sucrose Diet Leads to Deteriorated Ovarian Health: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8092397/

Bifidobacterium longum and prebiotic interventions restore early-life high-fat/high-sugar diet-induced alterations in feeding behavior in adult mice: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-68968-2

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