Baby led weaning leads to a lower BMI and healthier food preferences compared to spoon fed babies. That is the finding of a paper by Dr. Townsend and Prof. Pitchford of the University of Nottingham published in the BMJ Open journal.
155 parents from Nottingham were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding weaning habits, their baby’s preference for 151 types of food and the frequency of consumption of these foods. The results? Babies who were spoon fed had a greater liking for sweet foods and had an increased incidence of obesity, the baby led weaning group had a preference for carbohydrates and an increased incidence of being underweight. The authors suggest that the this preference for healthy food and lower BMI has implications in the fight against rising obesity levels.