Researchers at the University of Buffalo say babies given foods high in sugar, fat and protein in their early months of life are more likely to eat less nutritious foods later in life. “There is substantial research to suggest that if you consistently offer foods with a particular taste to infants, they will show a preference for these foods later in life,” said assistant professor of pediatrics Xiaozhong Wen in a news release. “So if you tend to offer healthy foods, even those with a somewhat bitter taste to infants, such as pureed vegetables, they will develop a liking for them. But if you always offer sweet or fatty foods, infants will develop a stronger preference for them or even an addiction to them.”
Wen and colleague examined the first solid foods that babies eat in hopes of insight into whether they would develop obesity. “We found that differences in dietary habits start very early,” he said. The first year is a critical period for development of taste patterns and eating habits.