Emma Haycraft

Professor Emma Haycraft is a Professor of Psychology and Public Health at Loughborough University, serving as Associate Dean of Education and Student Experience within the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences (SSEHS). She leads the Public Health Impact team and contributes to the National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine. Her academic roles include Director of Studies for Postgraduate Taught Programmes and membership in key committees like the Enterprise Committee and Human Resources Advisory Group.

Haycraft holds a BSc and PhD from the University of Birmingham. Her teaching focuses on developmental psychology and parenting within undergraduate psychology programmes. She has extensive experience supervising doctoral and undergraduate research projects.

Her research interests center on parental feeding practices, child eating behaviors, and public health interventions to address obesity and related issues. Key areas include the impact of temperamental traits on feeding dynamics, the role of environmental factors in dietary choices, and the psychological effects of compulsive exercise in athletes. She has pioneered projects like the APPETItE study exploring tailored interventions for preschoolers with avid eating behaviors.

Haycraft’s work bridges academia and policy, with contributions to global health initiatives such as nutritional frameworks in low-income regions and policy mapping for malnutrition in Peru. Her publications emphasize longitudinal analyses of lifestyle behaviors, the psychosocial impacts of the pandemic on exercise patterns, and qualitative insights into parental experiences.

Her advising and grant work includes developing athlete-focused interventions for eating disorder symptoms and evaluating school-based nutrition programs. She collaborates with international teams on projects in Peru and Kenya, integrating sociocultural and contextual factors into public health strategies.