New Intervention Program Promotes Healthy Diets during Infancy

Oh, if only every new parent could train their babies to like vegetables; especially those babies who are ‘veggie resistant’.  Encouraging healthy eating habits for babies and toddlers can be a challenge, especially in light of recent findings that baby and toddler snack foods were loaded with sugar.  What is a mum to do?  The answer may have arrived as a new study found a little early mealtime intervention can go a long way.

At the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB), research was presented that found that educating first time mothers to feed their babies “responsively” resulted in a higher acceptance of veggies and novel foods by the infant.   With childhood obesity steadily on the rise, early intervention programs have been aimed at encouraging healthy eating habits at an early age.

Such is the mission of Pennsylvania State University’s Center for Childhood Obesity Research, who conducted the study, and works in hope to protect children from obesity.  For the one year study, nurses visited the homes of first time parents to provide education on timing and methods for introducing solid foods, how to indentify hunger and fullness cues, and how to improve their infant’s acceptance of new foods (such as vegetables) using repeated exposure.  Comprehensively, the program was designed to teach parents how to feed their babies “responsively”, or letting the child dictate satiety and food choices.

Early intervention was indeed successful as mothers who received the year of intervention had babies who were more likely to accept vegetables as well as other new foods; in addition to the promotion of improved growth patterns.  This was the first study to provide proof that teaching parents what, when, and how to feed their babies can build the foundation for healthy eating habits. Study authors note that the success of the study can aid in long-term obesity prevention as well. 

What this Means for Mums

While it will probably be a while before more research is published on this type of intervention program, there is still a lot you can do right now.   It is never too early to start instilling healthy eating habits in your children and infancy is no exception.  In the words of Ellyn Satter, it is the parents job to provide the food at regular meal times and it is the child’s job to decide how much to eat.  Yes, it may take a few times of seeing a new food before your little one is willing to try it, but if you are consistent in your offerings of healthy food choices- you’re baby will blossom into a healthy eater.

Tags: healthy eating habits, introducing solid foods

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