Weaning baby food revisited: solid finger foods healthier than purée
A two-woman research team in the United Kingdom has discovered that giving solid finger food to babies to help wean them off milk offer two benefits: one, these babies are more likely to develop healthier food choices; and two, they are less likely to become overweight children than are those who consume spoon-feed pureed food. Presented in British Medical Journal (BMJ) Open, the study provides fresh insight into how a specific weaning style can affect food preferences and the body mass index (BMI) in early childhood. The University of Nottingham researchers evaluated 155 children between the ages of 20 months and 6.5 years. Their parents, who volunteered to take part in the study, completed a questionnaire about their experiences of infant feeding and weaning style. Overall, 92 parents used baby-led weaning, in which the baby is permitted to feed him or herself from a variety of solid finger food after 6 months of age; 63 parents used conventional spoon-feeding, in which their babies consumed smooth purees. The texture and range of foods grew as the babies grew too. 'Although numerous studies have focused on when to introduce solid foods into an infant's diet, there is a dearth of evidence concerning the impact of different weaning methods on food preferences and health prospects,' explains Professor Ellen Townsend from the School of Psychology at the University of Nottingham, one of the authors of the study. 'We believe our report is the first piece of research to examine whether weaning method can influence food preferences and the future health of the child.' The researchers also assessed the child's preference for 151 different types of food in the common food categories of proteins, dairy and carbohydrates, to name just a few. The study also highlighted the frequency of consumption of each food type, and how age impacts food preference. The duo identified significant differences in preference for only one food category: the baby-led group favoured carbohydrates more than the spoon-fed group did. The former liked carbohydrates best while the latter much preferred sweet foods. Healthy nutrition, say the researchers, gets a huge boost from carbohydrates. This differs from previous research trends, where scientists thought that sweetness and frequency of exposure were major contributors to early food preferences. According to the two researchers, understanding the factors that influence healthy nutrition in early childhood is key. It is probably the optimal time to modify food preferences in order to promote healthy diets throughout life. It should be noted that neither socially desirable responding, i.e. parents tailoring their questionnaire responses to make them 'acceptable', nor socioeconomic status impacted children's preferences or the rate of exposure. However, the duo identified a link between an increased liking of vegetables and higher social class. While no difference in picky eating was found between the baby-led and spoon-led groups, the researchers discovered more underweight children in the baby-led group and increased obesity rates in the other group. So weaning style affects food preferences and health in early childhood, the findings suggest. Based on the results, infants weaned through the baby-led method learn to regulate their food intake in a manner that results in a lower BMI and a preference for healthy foods. Commenting on the findings, co-author Dr Nicola Pitchford, also of the University of Nottingham, says: 'Our study has produced some very interesting findings. The research suggests that baby-led weaning has a positive impact on the liking of foods that form the building blocks of healthy nutrition, such as carbohydrates. Baby-led weaning promotes healthy food preferences in early childhood which may protect against obesity.' The duo believes their research could lead to better tools for managing the growing obesity trend in today's society.For more information, please visit: University of Nottingham:http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/BMJ Open:http://bmjopen.bmj.com/
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