Peace Meal

Episode 104: What Every Parent Should Know About Body Image with Charlotte Markey

24 Apr 2026

Audio

Description

Episode description: In this episode of Peace Meal, we welcome back Dr. Charlotte Markey to discuss the newly released second edition of her book, The Body Image Book for Girls, and what the latest body image research means for the young people in our lives. Charlotte reflects on how much has changed since the first edition, including the pandemic’s lasting impact on young people's mental health and a social media landscape that’s evolving faster than most adults can track—and what parents, caregivers, and clinicians can actually do to help amid it all. Central to that, says Charlotte, is being willing to examine your own relationship with food and bodies first. She and Jillian also explore what it looks like to help kids build a relationship with their bodies grounded in function and appreciation, and why it’s worth starting that conversation early. About Charlotte: Charlotte Markey, Ph.D., is a world-leading expert in body image research, having studied body image and eating behavior for nearly three decades. She is passionate about understanding what makes us feel good about our bodies and helping people to develop a healthy body image and relationship with food. Charlotte is an experienced book author, research scientist, clinician, speaker, and psychology professor at Rutgers University-Camden. Charlotte loves to talk with tweens, teens, parents, and educators about body image—and how to improve it. She currently lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, Dan, and their dogs, Lexi and Zoe. For fun, she likes to run, travel, and read, and tries to visit with her son, Charlie, and her daughter, Grace, who are away at college living their best lives. We cover: What body image research has revealed since 2020 Why and how body image concerns affect people across all genders How parents can model a healthier relationship with their bodies How to talk about food at home without inadvertently moralizing it How to help kids think critically about influencers and curated online content In Charlotte’s words: On body image intergenerational transmission: “One of the best reasons I can think of for parents to work on their own body image is so that they don't pass down any of their own body image concerns to their kids. We do not need more intergenerational transmission of this stuff. So, what can parents do? Parents can be really thoughtful in terms of how they approach food in their household…[and] it’s so important that we’re not disparaging our own bodies. We want our kids to not internalize the inner monologue some of us have going on.” On moralizing food: “Parents will often say to me, 'Well, I don't want my kid just to eat, quote unquote junk. And I'll say, ‘Well, do you have to call it junk?’ Do we have to moralize food? Can food just be food? Can we just talk about food as a source of pleasure, a source of nourishment, a source of connection?” On the myth of the endlessly modifiable body: “So much of how we appear and our bodies look, and for that matter, how they function, is genetically determined. We are talking at least 50%, and there are some estimates that [say] weight is as much as 80% genetically determined. There are so many influences in the media and even just in our families that often suggest to us that we can change our bodies, we can do all these things. And you know, a lot of that is kind of deceptive, because a lot of how we are going to look is in our genetic blueprint. So this idea that we're sort of endlessly modifiable objects is really unfortunate.” Additional Resources: Listen to Charlotte’s previous Peace Meal episode. You can learn more about and purchase Charlotte’s body image books online. Find more of Charlotte’s writing on The Emily Program’s blog and on her Substack. You can also follow Charlotte on Instagram (@char_markey) and Facebook. About the podcast: Peace Meal is a podcast hosted by The Emily Program that covers topics related to eating disorders, body image, and how society may influence our thinking. You can find Peace Meal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube Music. If you enjoy our show, please rate, review, subscribe, and tell your friends! Are you interested in being a guest on Peace Meal? Email [email protected] for more information.

Transcription

This episode hasn't been transcribed yet

Help us prioritize this episode for transcription by upvoting it.

0 upvotes

🗳️ Sign in to Upvote

Popular episodes get transcribed faster

Other recent transcribed episodes

Transcribed and ready to explore now

13:00H | 21 DIC 2025 | Fin de Semana

01 Jan 1970

Fin de Semana

10:00H | 21 DIC 2025 | Fin de Semana

01 Jan 1970

Fin de Semana

12:00H | 20 DIC 2025 | Fin de Semana

01 Jan 1970

Fin de Semana

2ª PARTE | 06 ENE 2026 | EL PARTIDAZO DE COPE

01 Jan 1970

El Partidazo de COPE

3ª PARTE | 22 ENE 2026 | EL PARTIDAZO DE COPE

01 Jan 1970

El Partidazo de COPE

3ª PARTE | 04 MAR 2026 | EL PARTIDAZO DE COPE

01 Jan 1970

El Partidazo de COPE

Comments

There are no comments yet.

Please log in to write the first comment.

Report any issue

Peace Meal

Episode 104: What Every Parent Should Know About Body Image with Charlotte Markey

This episode hasn't been transcribed yet

Other recent transcribed episodes

13:00H | 21 DIC 2025 | Fin de Semana

10:00H | 21 DIC 2025 | Fin de Semana

12:00H | 20 DIC 2025 | Fin de Semana

2ª PARTE | 06 ENE 2026 | EL PARTIDAZO DE COPE

3ª PARTE | 22 ENE 2026 | EL PARTIDAZO DE COPE

3ª PARTE | 04 MAR 2026 | EL PARTIDAZO DE COPE

Sign in to Audioscrape

Share this moment