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Brooke Bennett

Postdoctoral Research Associate at the UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health, University of Connecticut
Chapter Member: Connecticut SSN
Areas of Expertise:

About Brooke

Bennett’s research focuses on weight stigma, body image, and evidence-based care for eating disorders. Bennett examines social and environmental factors that influence the development and perpetuation of eating and weight disorders with an emphasis on diverse and underserved populations. Bennett's research explores the ways digital technology can both impact various health conditions and disorders and be used to enhance assessment, intervention, and dissemination.

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.