In his Nov. 14 Key Lecture, Michael Goran, PhD, will explore an emerging area of interest: how diets high in ultra-processed foods during critical periods of early development may influence brain maturation and shape long-term health trajectories.

A leading investigator in childhood nutrition and obesity, Dr. Goran is professor and vice chair for research in the Department of Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. He also serves as the program director for Nutrition and Obesity at The Saban Research Institute and holds the Dr. Robert C. and Veronica Atkins Endowed Chair in Childhood Obesity and Diabetes.

Dr. Goran’s lecture, Ultra-Processed Foods and the Developing Brain: A Neurodevelopmental Model of Obesity and Chronic Disease Risk, draws on his expertise and on the concept of the developmental origins of health and disease to propose that early-life diets high in ultra-processed foods should be viewed through a similar lens.

“Children are being exposed to diets high in ultra-processed foods increasingly early in life, during periods when the brain and metabolic systems are still developing,” Dr. Goran said. “The question is whether these exposures may be shaping developmental trajectories long before obesity or other chronic diseases become apparent.”

Dr. Goran will delve into research suggesting that nutritional exposures during infancy and childhood may influence developing neural and metabolic systems during critical windows of growth.

“One intriguing possibility is that differences in brain development may represent an intermediate phenotype, detectable before changes in cognition, eating behavior, obesity or other chronic disease outcomes become apparent,” he said.

Attendees will hear evidence spanning prenatal nutrition, infant feeding, early-childhood exposure to ultra-processed foods, brain imaging, cognition and school performance. Dr. Goran will also consider whether changing children’s food environments—including school nutrition—could alter developmental trajectories, and what this emerging framework means for research, prevention, and nutrition policy.

Nutrition early in life is more than fuel for a growing child. During critical periods of development, it is also a biological signal. That means prevention may need to begin much earlier than when we first see excess weight.

— Michael Goran, PhD

“Nutrition early in life is more than fuel for a growing child. During critical periods of development, it is also a biological signal. That means prevention may need to begin much earlier than when we first see excess weight,” he said.

Dr. Goran will share research examining differences among breastfed infants and those receiving various formula products. His recently published study using continuous glucose monitoring in 6-month-old babies examined how different carbohydrate sources in infant formula affected glycemic regulation during infancy. While questions remain about long-term outcomes, the findings highlighted that nutritional composition of food may influence physiological signaling during a period of rapid change and underscored the importance of understanding how nutrition shapes development from the earliest stages of life.

“The important question is not only whether an early dietary exposure is associated with obesity years later, but what happens in-between—what metabolic, neural or behavioral phenotypes emerge first, and whether those trajectories can be modified,” he said.

Dr. Goran’s Key Lecture takes place Saturday, Nov. 14, 3–4 pm ET, at National Harbor 2-3 in the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center.

Other ObesityWeek 2026 Key Lectures on Saturday include (all times are listed in ET, and all room locations are in the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center):

• Colleen Sloan, PA-C, RDN, The Evolving Plate: How Nutritional Needs Shift Throughout the Obesity Care Journey, 1:30–2:30 pm at Woodrow Wilson, Ballroom Level.
• Robyn Pashby, PhD, FTOS, Is there a Place for Body Positivity in Obesity Care?, 4:30–5:30 pm at National Harbor 2-3.