Dr. Margaret Yúfera-Leitch is an internationally recognized expert in the field of obesity research and human eating motivation. Dr. Leitch brings a unique, quantitative focus to obesity related investigations: with a Masters of Science in Research Methods and Statistics and a PhD in experimental psychology, she has a clear understanding of study design, implementation, and execution. The broad focus of her research is psychology of appetite, which includes aspects of impulse control, effective behavior modification, cognitive neuroscience, and identifying tailored strategies to maintain a healthy body weight. Dr. Leitch is a visiting Professor at the University of Calgary.

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Working extensively in both the UK and North America, Dr. Leitch has been funded by two of the largest grant funding organizations available to scientists (the British Biotechnological Science Research Council (BBSRC), and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation). Dr. Leitch has published in both peer reviewed journal articles and popular media, she has co authored two books, Impulses, and Call of the Cookie, where she has demonstrated the link between cognitive neuroscience and appetite control.

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A fundamental interest for Dr. Yufera-Leitch’s is the role impulsivity plays in overeating; her PhD thesis was devoted to understanding the depth of this relationship. She has a thorough understanding of the biopsychological components of eating motivation, and most especially the neuroscientific aspects of impulsivity, pleasure, and addictive behaviors. Dr. Yufera-Leitch’s work addresses our need to ‘simply’ eat less in an environment where our hedonic systems are constantly aroused.

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Dr. Yúfera-Leitch spent the earliest part of her career investigating human eating motivation. To this end, she conducted investigations into psychometric diagnostic tests for overeating, psychopharmacological research, and trying to understand whether chewing gum can reduce snacking behavior. The recipient of a British Biotechnological and Science Research Council fellowship, Dr. Yúfera-Leitch investigated human learning and food preferences.

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Impulsive-Eating.com is a site developed by Dr. Yúfera-Leitch to help patients struggling with hedonic eating educate themselves, and gain control over their eating behaviors.  Learn more about Dr. Yúfera-Leitch.