Baby-led weaning 'promotes healthy food preferences'
Babies who are weaned using solid finger food are more likely to prefer healthier foods as children than those given spoon-fed purees, a study has found.Scientists at the University of Nottingham studied the impact of weaning style on the food preferences and body mass index (BMI) of 155 children.
Of these, 92 were weaned using the baby-led weaning method, in which the infant is allowed to feed themselves on solid finger food from six months of age. The remaining 63 children were spoon-fed using purees.
Publishing their findings in the journal BMJ Open, the study authors revealed that children in the baby-led group liked carbohydrates more than the spoon-fed children, whereas the latter preferred sweet foods.
Obesity rates were also higher in the group of spoon-fed children.
Researcher Dr Nicola Pitchford said: "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."
Childhood obesity is a significant problem in England, with figures from the NHS Information Centre indicating that around one in ten children, aged four to five years, were classified as obese in 2009-10.
