Getting a child to eat their vegetables is one of the great household struggles but new research shows introducing a baby to only vegetables as their first solid foods may help them develop a longterm preference.
Photo: Unsplash / Hui Sang
Babies are more willing to try new foods when they first start to eat solids, says Massey University Human Nutrition PhD student Dr Jeanette Rapson, whose research has been published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Rapson found babies who started solids with vegetables only went on to eat more vegetables at nine months of age compared to those who had started a mix of fruit and vegetables.
"Particularly those difficult to accept ones, like the green vegetables, and if we can make the most of that window of opportunity for taste training early in life then they may be more likely to establish a lifelong preference for vegetables," she told Morning Report.
Rapson said babies were born with a natural preference for sweet tastes to attract them to nutritious breast milk.
"Consumption of fruit is as important as vegetables through childhood but fruit needs less encouragement than vegetables due to those innate preferences for sweet tastes."
The study found babies that started on only vegetables were still happy to eat fruit later. "So there's no negative impact on their fruit intake."
A variety of vegetables were still important in a baby's diet, she said - pointing out spinach, cauliflower and broccoli tend to be forgotten.
Researchers would follow each baby's progress at 12 months, 24 months and 26 months of age.
"We hope to find that the effects have lasted."
"There's no negative impact on their fruit intake" - Massey University Human Nutrition PhD student Dr Jeanette Rapson