Babies fed with mother’s breast milk are less picky eaters

WHEN children are picky eaters, sometimes it is a response to controlling or pushy parents, or to bribery. The battle over food can then lead to resistance and defiance from the child. Ultimately, it is the child’s decision as to what to eat and whether or not to eat the food you have provided.

Interestingly, favouring exclusive breastfeeding of babies can go a long way to prevent babies from becoming picky eaters. Scientists say traces of food from the mother’s diet can be carried in her milk and this can help to expose infants to the bitter flavours of many unpopular vegetables.

Mrs Motunrayo Oduneye, assistant chief dietician, University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, stated that babies fed exclusively with breast milk are not fussy about the choice of foods but were more willing to try new foods compared to those given formula milk as infants.

She spoke at a 5-day capacity building for civil society organisations, community-based organisations and media on breast milk substitute code, right to food, maternity protection and food fornication.

Picky eaters are characterized as consistently being unwilling to try new foods or having strong opinions on food preferences, preparation methods, and choice of food groups. They have a limited dietary variety, especially in micronutrient-rich foods, such as fruits, vegetables, and meats. These behaviours could be unfavourable for a child’s growth.

Children described as picky eaters or as having an eating problem gain less weight during the first two years of life, with 11.1 per cent of these children failing to thrive. Moreover, unhealthy eating habits during early childhood may be persistent throughout childhood and result in an increased risk of health problems later in life.

Food preferences by children are initiated early in life, partially by genetics, and by infant feeding and the family environment. Understanding these factors may be important to obtain a healthy lifestyle.

But, “children develop their eating habits based on foods mothers introduce right from birth because their taste buds had not been configured to take any particular type of food”, said Mrs Oduneye.

She added: “Children don’t learn anything about foods before birth but only started after birth when they are introduced to breast milk and thereafter complementary foods. Certainly, a mother’s diet really can affect the taste of her breast milk and babies don’t just notice these flavours, they also respond to them.

“Research does not tell us that exposure to flavours in breast milk will make babies like a type of food, but it does support a more fundamental idea that babies began learning about food flavours long before they start eating solid foods.”

Previously, research has shown a mother can reduce her child’s fussing over different foods by making certain choices about her own diet during her pregnancy, and by breastfeeding her baby. Varied diet in breast-feeding mothers produce more flavour exposure.

Researchers from the University of Buffalo’s Department of Paediatrics’ Behavioral Medicine division in a study published in the journal Obesity Review, had wanted to learn more about how toddlers and young children develop taste preferences, and what, if anything, helps prevent or manage picky eating.

They looked at results taken from more than 40 peer-reviewed studies and many flavours consumed by expectant mothers were present in their amniotic fluid. It reached her baby in the womb.

The study’s authors concluded: “Because taste and smell are already functional during fetal life, and the fetus regularly swallows amniotic fluid, the first experiences with flavour occur before birth. Exposure to these ‘transmittable’ flavours influences the acceptance of these flavours by the infant postnatally.”

Previously, researchers in the Journal of American Dietetic Association said breastfeeding and introduction of complementary foods after six months of age reduced the odds of picky eating during early childhood.

Children who were breastfed exclusively for six months had lower odds of developing a preference for specific food-preparation methods by 78 per cent, food rejection by 81 per cent and food neophobia (avoidance of new food) by 75 per cent. Also, children who were introduced to complementary foods before 6 months of age had 2.5 times higher odds of developing food neophobia and limited variety of foods.

Similarly, in the journal, PLoS One, researchers found that exclusive breastfeeding duration seems to influence pickiness and may contribute to facilitate the consumption of more vegetables in later childhood in obesity-prone normal-weight children.

Data showed lower odds of picky eating behaviour when exclusively breastfed until age four to five months compared to being exclusively breastfed for zero to one month. In the crude analysis only, exclusively breastfed until age six to 10 months was associated with a higher daily intake of vegetables. This is regardless of their mother’s education level.

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