British study: Babies who "fed themselves" would not be overweight

In the parenting experience of many parents, what food to feed the baby after weaning and how to eat in order to achieve balanced nutrition are often important topics. However, some foreign researchers believe that if parents continue to feed their babies, their babies may become obese; if babies eat food with their own hands, their weight will be lighter.

Some British scholars have suggested that it would be better to let children grab food and eat it by themselves. (Photo/From the British BBC)

The Guardian quoted an innovative research report from Nottingham University yesterday, which targeted 155 children aged between 20 months and 6 years old. The children were divided into two control groups: 92 "self-feeding" and 63 "passively fed". They were given 151 food items in five categories to choose from, and their parents measured their weight changes every day. The results showed that babies who ate food with their own hands not only had a lighter weight, but also had a dietary preference that was more focused on carbohydrates. The report was published in the British journal MBJ Open on February 6.

Alan, who is responsible for this report. Dr. Ellen Townsend said that many parents would mash the food before feeding it to their babies, and the babies would just keep swallowing it. As a result, 8 out of 63 children had a BMI index that was judged to be obese and they had to lose weight because they had a clear preference for sweet foods rich in sugar, such as sugary fruit purées. In contrast, babies who are "self-reliant" will decide what food to put in their mouths according to their current needs. Without being "force-fed", children's diet is not only more diverse, but they are also less likely to suffer from "pseudo-obesity". In addition, these babies particularly like carbohydrate foods such as bread or pasta, which may be related to the fact that they are easy to chew and digest.

Some scholars have raised objections, believing that the number of valid samples in this study is too small, and considering the errors made by parents in recording weight, its reliability and validity may be reduced; however, most people have a positive attitude towards the research results, because no one has ever noticed that passive feeding and independent eating will have an impact on children's weight and eating habits. This may allow some parents to revise their "parenting experience."