Texture preferences of 12 months old infants and the role of early experiences
I. Blossfeld (1)*, M. Kiely (1), C.M. Delahunty (2)
(1) Nutritional Sciences, University College Cork, Ireland;
(2) Sensory Science Research Centre, University of Otago, New Zealand
When it comes to research on infants in relation to food preferences, the influence of basic tastes and flavours have been well studied. Surprisingly very little research has been done on infants’ acceptance and preference of different food textures. The present study examined infants’ preferences for different textures. This work is part of a longitudinal study of the development of food preferences in infants, where parents and infants were recruited prior to birth. During the study, at predetermined times, food diaries and food frequency questionnaires have been used to measure both parents and infants’ dietary habits, enabling the role of early experiences on later observations of consumption to be determined.
In a home setting, 73 infants were exposed to cooked carrots prepared in two different textures; pureed and chopped. A consumption study was carried out over two days, with one texture presented per day to each infant, using a crossover design with the infant group halved. Weighed intake, number of spoons consumed and duration of feeding was measured for each texture type. Furthermore mothers rated the infants’ enjoyment of each texture on a 9-point hedonic scale. Paired samples t-test demonstrated that infants consumed significantly more pureed carrots (t=7.81, p<0.001) and that mothers’ rating of the infants’ enjoyment for this texture was significantly higher (t=3.62, p<0.001). However, great variability in the consumption of chopped carrots was found within the infants. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine predictors that can explain for this variation. Most of the variance in infants’ intake was explained by the infants’ prior experience with more complex textures, the infants’ diet variety, and the age solid food was first introduced.
The present research is a first step to explain the variation in infants’ consumption and acceptance of different textures. Furthermore it highlights the importance of not only varying the child’s experiences with different flavours but also with different textures to foster the infants’ transition to an adult diet.
Key words: Food texture, infants, food preferences