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Brooke Bennett

Assistant Professor of Psychology, Clemson University
Chapter Member: South Carolina SSN
Areas of Expertise:

About Brooke

Bennett’s research aims to improve the health and well-being of individuals navigating the current sociocultural and environmental barriers to eating well and developing a positive body image. To advance this mission, she works to identify the ways in which digital technology negatively impacts the health of its users and determine how technology can be used instead to expand the reach of and enhance evidence-based care for all people.

Contributions

In the News

Brooke Bennett quoted by Chris Baraniuk, "The Social Media Lifeline Amid Soaring Food Costs" BBC News, July 15, 2022.
"The Ideal Female Body Type Doesn't Exist," Brooke Bennett (with Francis Bozsick), Opinion, Newsweek, April 1, 2018.
Brooke Bennett quoted by Katie Kindelan, "What’s the New Ideal Female Body Type? Now It’s Thin and Muscular, Research Shows" ABC News, March 28, 2018.

Publications

"Distributing Summer Meals During a Pandemic: Challenges and Innovations" (with Marlene Schwartz, Kim M. Gans, Kara Burkholder , Julia Esposito, Sarah Wen Warykas , and Marlene B. Schwartz ). International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 6 (2022): 3167.

Finds that food service directors reported that the pandemic-related regulatory waivers were very helpful in allowing them to increase flexibility and be more creative in solving problems. Reports that they believe the waivers increased participation in the USDA's summer meal program, suggesting that permanent changes to the summer meal program regulations may be appropriate.

"Feeding Connecticut's Children during the Summer: An Evaluation of Access and Family Perspectives on Meal Sites.," UConn Collaboratory on School and Child Health, 2021.

Elaborates on how USDA's summer meal program was well-received by participants as participants reported that the program helped them worry less about ensuring their children are eating nutritionally balanced meals. Tells that participants also reported looking for information about the summer meal program on social media or in digital communication directly from their children's schools.

"Concerns and Recommendations for Using Amazon MTurk for Eating Disorder Research" (with C. Blair Burnette , Jessica L. Luzier, Chantel M. Weisenmuller, Patrick Kerr, and Shelby Martin). International Journal of Eating Disorders 55, no. 2 (2021): 263-272.

Suggests that researchers should use caution when recruiting participants through online portals like Amazon's MTurk.

"Appearance-Focused Media Use as a Moderator of the Relationship Between Fear of Fat and Weight Bias: An Exploratory Study" (with Allison F Wagner , Katrina T Obleada , and Janet D Latner). Eat Weight Disorders 25, no. 3 (2019): 643-648.

Demonstrates that messages portrayed by the media may be strengthening the relationship between people's internal feelings about their weights and their outward stigma towards others.

"Internal Health Locus of Control Predicts Willingness To Track Health Behaviors Online and With Smartphone Applications" (with Carly M. Goldstein, Emily C. Gathright, Joel W. Hughes, and Janet D. Latner). Psychology, Health & Medicine 22, no. 10 (2017): 1224-1229.

Predicts willingness to track health behaviors online and with smartphone applications. Mentions people who believe they are in control of their own health are more likely to use a form of technology to monitor or change their own health behaviors.