Your kids don’t want to eat vegetables? Baby food often too sweet would explain why children do not like more bitter tastes. This is what a new Scottish study has just shown. These baby foods are said to prevent children from opening up to new flavors and textures.
Scientists at the University of Glasgow have found that children who eat baby food can develop a sweet tooth very early in life, which prevents them to enjoy the vegetables later in childhood.
To reach these conclusions, the researchers analyzed 329 baby foods. Among the most common ingredients: apples, bananas, tomatoes, mangoes, carrots and sweet potatoes. About 20% of the products contained added fruit juice.
The study, published in the journal Maternal and Child Nutrition, found that green vegetables were rarely incorporated into baby foods. However, they noted that the sugar in food did not exceed recommended limits and was similar to the amount of sugar found in breast milk.
Lead author of the study, Dr Ada Garcia explains that although baby food contains fruits and vegetables as ingredients, the results of previous work show that children who ate the most the most baby food are less likely to eat fruits and vegetables later in childhood.
“Health professionals should encourage parents to offer home-prepared vegetables to their children to promote the experience of new tastes in their children,” advises Dr Garcia.
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