Chew On This with Dr Anna Colton

In this episode of Chew on This, I’m joined by Professor Giles Yeo — Cambridge geneticist, obesity researcher, and one of the leading scientific voices in the conversation around weight, appetite, and GLP-1 medications. We unpack what it really means to describe obesity as a brain-based, genetically influenced chronic disease, and why the narrative of “just eat less and move more” doesn’t come close to explaining the complexity of hunger, fullness, reward, and emotional eating. Giles explains how our biology, environment and internal wiring intersect — and why judging someone at the point of “fork to mouth” ignores the deeply individual pathways that drive eating behaviour.
We also dive into GLP-1 medications — what they actually do, what they don’t do, who they’re for, and why the biggest risk may not be side effects, but access without proper guardrails. Giles shares a personal perspective on his son’s experience, and together we explore the tension between health and weight, stigma and science, and how we might shift the conversation away from blame and towards a more nuanced, compassionate understanding of bodies and health.

Find Giles:
Instagram: @gilesyeo
Website: https://www.wolfson.cam.ac.uk/people/giles-yeo
Listen to The Hunger Game: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002r3kd
Read Why Calories Don't Count: https://amzn.eu/d/06GC0a1k

Find Anna:
Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.dranna.co.uk/about⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/drannacolton⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Book (Amazon): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.amazon.com/How-Talk-Children-About-Food/dp/1785120557

In this episode of Chew On This, I’m joined by Charlotte Stirling-Reed - registered nutritionist, bestselling author, and one of the UK’s most trusted voices on feeding babies and children. We talk about the pressure parents are under at mealtimes, why “high-stakes feeding” backfires, and how building a healthy relationship with food starts way earlier than most of us realise. Charlotte shares the simple mindset shift that changes everything: make the table a place kids actually want to be -because enjoyment comes before exposure, and exposure comes before variety.
We get practical too: buffet-style “fridge raid” dinners, how to handle the dreaded beige plate, why food hierarchy (aka “eat this to get pudding”) can cause more problems long-term, and what to do when you catch yourself coaxing, bribing, or taking refusal personally. If you’re navigating fussy eating, portion anxiety, snack stress, or just want calmer, more confident mealtimes, this is your reminder that feeding is a long game - and you’re not failing.

Find Charlotte:
Website: https://www.srnutrition.co.uk/
Instagram: @sr_nutrition
Books: https://www.srnutrition.co.uk/2023/08/which-charlotte-stirling-reed-book-should-i-buy/

Find Anna:
Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.dranna.co.uk/about⁠⁠⁠⁠
Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/drannacolton⁠⁠⁠⁠
Book (Amazon): ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.amazon.com/How-Talk-Children-About-Food/dp/1785120557

This week on Chew On This, I’m joined by Dr Emily Leeming — registered dietitian, nutrition scientist at King’s College London, former chef, and self-confessed gut microbiome nerd. Emily is the author of Genius Gut and she’s back to talk about her new book Fibre Power, plus why gut health doesn’t need to be extreme, expensive, or obsessed-over to actually make a difference.

We get into the real-world basics that move the needle: the difference between a nutritionist and a dietitian, what your gut microbiome actually does (beyond digestion), the emerging gut–brain research, and why restriction so often backfires. Emily shares her simple “B-G-B-G-S” framework (beans, greens, berries, grains & seeds), why most of us are seriously under-eating fibre, and how to build a healthier plate that still leaves room for joy, connection, and the foods you genuinely love.

Find Emily:
Website: https://www.emilyleeming.com
Instagram: @dremilyleeming
Buy her book: https://amzn.eu/d/0ambScHs

Find Anna:
Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.dranna.co.uk/about⁠⁠⁠⁠
Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/drannacolton⁠⁠⁠⁠
Book (Amazon): ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.amazon.com/How-Talk-Children-About-Food/dp/1785120557

In this week’s episode of Chew On This, I’m joined by Joanna Rodriguez, a health psychologist who works with the nervous system, stress, and trauma and who describes her work as helping people feel less shit. We talk about why the mind and body aren’t separate, how that false divide creates unnecessary suffering and shame, and why so many struggles with food aren’t about willpower or control at all. Jo explains how our nervous system shapes appetite, hunger, and eating patterns through fight, flight, freeze, and fawn responses, and why behaviours like restricting, binging, emotional eating, or eating to please others are often physiological survival adaptations rather than personal failures. We explore what it means to slow down in a world that doesn’t encourage it, how micro pauses, grounding, breathwork, and tapping can help the body feel safer, and why compassion is not about being soft or indulgent but about understanding what’s actually going on beneath the behaviour. We also talk about living well with difficult feelings instead of trying to get rid of them, the impact of chronic stress and pain on eating, and how learning to work with the body rather than fighting it can begin to shift long standing patterns around food, emotions, and self trust.

Find Jo:
Instagram: @straightforwardpsychology

Find Anna:
Website: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.dranna.co.uk/about⁠⁠⁠
Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/drannacolton⁠⁠⁠
Book (Amazon): ⁠⁠⁠https://www.amazon.com/How-Talk-Children-About-Food/dp/1785120557

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Dr Joshua Wolrich, a NHS doctor, nutrition counsellor and author of Food Isn’t Medicine. We talk about why food has become such a fraught subject, including the rise of shame and “shoulds”, weight stigma in everyday life and in healthcare, and the way diet culture can start far earlier than we imagine. Joshua shares his own journey from dieting and public “accountability” online to a weight neutral, evidence led approach. We explore why dieting is not risk free, why intuitive eating is so often misunderstood, and how fear rather than science drives so much of what we’re told about sugar, health and body size.
If you have ever felt tension around food, whether that is eating in secret, feeling judged in a doctor’s room, worrying you are “doing it wrong”, or panicking about what you might pass on to your children, this conversation is for you. Joshua’s closing thought is beautifully simple: do one thing that brings more joy to eating, what you love, how you love to eat, and who you love to eat with, because a peaceful relationship with food is not a luxury, it is part of living.

00:36 Debunking Food Myths
01:44 Early Childhood and Food Relationships
03:11 Impact of Food Scarcity on Health
06:07 Navigating Diet Culture and Parenting
11:24 Personal Journey into Nutrition and Medicine
13:49 The Role of Social Media in Dieting
15:11 Challenging Diet Culture and Embracing Intuitive Eating
20:34 Reflecting on Problematic Dieting
21:08 Accidental Social Media U-Turn
21:30 Exploring Intuitive Eating
22:40 Transition to Nutritional Science
25:00 Challenging Dieting Risks
31:43 Weight Stigma in Healthcare
35:55 The Impact of Ultra-Processed Foods
41:11 Final Thoughts on Food and Joy

Find Josh:
Website: https://drwolrich.com
Instagram: @drjoshuawolrich
Read His Book 'Food Isn't Medicine': https://amzn.eu/d/0anDsBXl

Find Anna:
Website: ⁠⁠https://www.dranna.co.uk/about⁠⁠
Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/drannacolton⁠⁠
Book (Amazon): ⁠⁠https://www.amazon.com/How-Talk-Children-About-Food/dp/1785120557