Margaret Defeyter

Defeyter returned to the United Kingdom in 1993 after living in the United States. She studied psychology at the University of Essex. She has said that whilst she was supported by a Local Education Authority grant, she still struggled to make ends meet. Her early research looked to understand how children understand the functions of objective. She was appointed a lecturer at Northumbria University, where she supervised a doctoral researcher who was interested in how breakfast cereal impacted children's cognition. This prompted Defeyter to study the impact of school breakfast club attendance on young people's education outcomes. == Research and career ==

Defeyter founded the 'Healthy Living' Lab at Northumbria University. Her research considers food insecurity and how it influences the cognitive performance, behaviour, and wellbeing of young people. Defeyter has demonstrated that food insecurity is associated with poor health outcomes, and that the that proportion of children who experience food insecurity over the holidays is increasing. She showed that children on free school dinners lag behind their more affluent peers. Defeyter worked with Kellogg's and Magic Breakfast to show the influence of breakfast clubs on school attendance and punctuality. Defeyter served as an advisor on the Department for Education Holiday Activities and Food Programme which provides food and childcare to low income families in the United Kingdom. which develops strategies to tackle poverty and inequality in Gateshead. Defeyter worked with the Centre For Young Lives to create an evidence-based strategy to increase children's physical activity, mental health and wellbeing. This included enrolment on free school dinners, improve the nutritional content of school meals and increase access to physical activity throughout the school day. == Awards and honours ==

• 2006 Sustain Children's Food Hero • 2015 Fellow of the British Psychological Society == Selected publications ==