Title: Hand motor skills affect the intake of finger foods in toddlers (12–18 months)
| Authors: | Lianne Remijn, Saakje da Costa, Chantal Bodde, Rianne Gerding, Hugo Weenen, Carel Vereijken, Cees van der Schans |
| Published: | 2019 |
| Journal: | Food Quality and Preference |
Feeding during the first years of life is a window of opportunity to introduce taste and texture that sets the foundation for healthy eating habits later in life.
Introducing finger foods is an important step in complementary feeding, it is recommended to start with finger foods, at about 7 months, but there is a lack of information on which finger foods are appropriate and accepted for which age.
The study set-up
The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine whether chewing skills, hand motor skills, and other personal and food characteristics influence the intake of finger foods in early life.
Thirty toddlers aged 12 to 18 months participated in the study. All toddlers were offered four finger foods in a fixed order on four consecutive days at their home. Two finger foods varied mainly in texture (bananas) and two other finger foods mainly in shape (crackers).
Conclusion
The intake of the four finger foods in this study was found to be mainly affected by texture, hand motor skills, age and experience.
Read the publication here
You might also be interested in this publication in Appetite on complementary feeding and infants gaze as a cue for hunger and satiety.
This paper describes the development of a coding scheme for categorizing and tracking infant gaze behaviour during complementary feeding.
Infant gaze is a cue for hunger and satiety, recognizing hunger and satiety is essential in responsive feeding.
The eyes have it: Infant gaze as an indicator of hunger and satiation
Authors: Janet McNallya, Siobhan Hugh-Jones, Samantha Caton, Carel Vereijken, Hugo Weenen,Marion M. Hetherington
Published in: 2019
Journal: Appetite, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2018.11.026
Find more information about taste, texture and appearance in baby nutrition here:
https://www.nutriciaresearch.com/nutrition-for-life/early-life-nutrition/taste-texture-and-appearance-in-baby-nutrition-why-it-matters/