Parents are unwittingly passing down their own food hang-ups and toxic attitudes to their children, creating a phenomenon known as 'food noise' that affects young people's relationship with eating, experts warn. Food noise refers to intrusive, uncontrollable mental chatter about food that leads to cravings even when not physically hungry.
Alicia Eaton, a psychotherapist and author of 'Mind How Your Kids Eat', says children are absorbing messaging about food from parents who label some foods as 'good' and others as 'bad', or use food as a reward, treat or source of guilt. 'We use food for much more than just nourishment,' she notes, adding that current global events heighten anxiety in homes, leading parents to reach for ice cream or popcorn as a balm.
The UK has one of the worst obesity rates in Europe, with about 3.8 million children aged five to 19 recording a high BMI – roughly double the rates in France and Italy. The World Obesity Federation's ATLAS 2026 report estimates 228 million children worldwide will be living with obesity by 2040.
Eaton points to the proliferation of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and clever marketing as key drivers. 'Food manufacturers have got cleverer in getting us hooked and addicted because they understand the exact combination of fat and sugar,' she says. 'Are we creating a generation of dopamine-addicted children? Yes, most definitely we are.'
She criticises the sugar tax as 'madness', arguing that manufacturers are allowed to produce and stock sugary foods while consumers are penalised. On weight loss injections, which an estimated 1.6 million British adults used between early 2024 and early 2025, Eaton warns against their use for children. Liraglutide and semaglutide are approved in the UK for obese adolescents aged 12 and over, and drugmaker Novo Nordisk has asked US regulators to expand use for children as young as six.
'I don't want to see children on medication,' Eaton says, urging adults to use the availability of weight loss drugs as an opportunity to reset their own flawed relationship with food and break the cycle, 'to avoid passing on the same problems to the next generation'.
