Study: Spoon-Fed Weaning Results to Overweight Kids
From the archive. This post was first published on the original Green Eggs and Moms blog and is kept here as it was.
When it comes to weaning, does a mother knows best?
According to research, maybe not.
The Study
Researchers worked with 155 kids from ages 20 months to 6.5 years. They gave the parents questionnaires that sought to determine the following: weaning methods and food preferences.
Note that 92 of the kids were allowed to eat finger food (baby-led weaning) while the remaining children were given puréed food (spoon-fed).
The Findings
- Spoon-fed children were more likely to be obese compared to their baby-led counterparts.
- Spoon-fed children preferred sweet food while their counterparts enjoyed carbohydrates.
In addition, the authors of the study theorize that kids from the baby-led group enjoy carbohydrates because of the following:
- Eating bread whole, for example, allows them to appreciate and savor its taste and texture more.
- It’s easier to chew bread compared to proteins such as meat.
The Takeaway
This study is valuable since many parents want their children to grow up healthy instead of obese or overweight.
So, to all those moms weaning their children, this question is for you:
What do you think about the study? Would you allow your little one to eat finger foods instead of stuffing him or her with mushy food?
Photo:Creative Commons from SigNote Cloud