- 2 updates
Parents who wish to encourage healthy eating in their children should start early and often, researchers from the University of Leeds have said. Lead researcher Professor Marion Hetherington, from the Institute of Psychological Sciences added:
Offering infants a frequent taste of vegetables may be a way to turn them on to healthy food, a study suggests.
Scientists found that starting early was the key to encouraging children to eat up their greens - or, in this case, artichoke.
The vegetable was chosen for the experiment because a survey showed it to be one of the least popular with parents.
Most babies given frequent small meals of artichoke puree increased the amount they ate over time, while 21% fell into the category of "plate clearers" who gobbled up more than 75% of each helping.