NHD CPD eArticle NETWORK HEALTH DIGEST
Volume 8.13 - 16th August 2018
INFANT WEANING AND DEVELOPMENT OF TASTE PREFERENCES Jacqui Lowdon Paediatric Dietitian, Leeds Children’s Hospital Jacqui is a Clinical Specialist in Paediatric Cystic Fibrosis at Leeds Children's Hospital. She previously specialised in gastroenterology and cystic fibrosis. Although her career to date has focused on the acute sector, Jacqui has a great interest in paediatric public health.
Taste is one of our fundamental senses, essential for us to be able to ingest nutritious food and to be able to detect and avoid potentially poisonous ones. During the early years, the foundations for healthy growth and development are laid down. Complementary feeding, that is when foods other than milk are first introduced (commonly referred to as weaning), is a critical feature of this time, both in terms of nutrition and eating behaviours.1 As we tend to eat food that we like, the most important aspect to acquire during these early years should be to develop a preference for certain foods that may contribute towards good health. Strong correlations have been found between food preferences during early childhood and preferences in later childhood,2 adolescence3 and young adulthood.4 This implicates early experience as a foundation for food preference development across the course of our life. THE BASIC TASTES
During the first year of life, we are receptive to all five basic tastes, with varying extents, but willing to try most new foods.5 However, it is well documented that from birth, humans prefer sweet, salty and umami tastes over bitter or sour.6,7 Umami is a strong taste, often referred to as ‘the fifth taste’, that is not sweet, sour, salty, or bitter. It is the intensely savoury taste imparted by glutamates that occur naturally in many foods such as meat, fish and vegetables. More recently, fatty acids and calcium have emerged as potential tastants that can be sensed by taste bud
cells.8-12 Humans can also quickly learn to like foods that are energy dense.13 For example, children may be more sensitive to certain tastes (for example, sweet) during periods of maximal growth,14,15 which has been hypothesised to help choose foods that will support rapid development.14 Exposure to a variety of foods during the complementary feeding period helps with the acceptance of new foods in the first year, whereas in the second year, exposure may have a more limited impact.16 VARIETY PROMOTES ACCEPTANCE
Reactions towards new foods can differ according to food groups.17 In one study, mothers were asked to report their infant’s reactions to new foods at the beginning of complementary feeding. They found that fruits and vegetables, which are often the first foods offered to infants, are less accepted than other food groups.18 However, a more recent investigation demonstrated that early exposure to a rotation of vegetable flavours first added to milk and then to cereals increased the intake and liking of these vegetables. Infants assigned to the
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