To mash, or not to mash

According to a study conducted at the University of Nottingham in the UK, mashing your baby’s food is old school. Infants outgrowing a liquid diet who feed themselves finger foods rather than being spoon-fed purées are more likely to eat healthily and avoid getting fat during weaning, the study reports.

Researches found that technique known as “baby-led weaning” led to a child expressing a clear preference for pasta, rice and other carbohydrates over sweets, helping to cement a foundation for eating the right foods. 60% of 155 children in the study were allowed to feed themselves finger foods while the remaining 40% were spoon-fed puréed foods.

Despite the fact that infants in the sppon-fed group were offered more carbohydrates, fruit, vegetables and proteins, they wound up liking sweets more than self-fed children. The kids allowed to eat finger foods were more likely to in their correct weight bracket and less likely to be obese at the end of weaning.

Ref: Discovery magazine July 2012 | Issue 45

See also:
Eating – Not wanting to eat
Eating – Snacking: baby eating all the time