Food preference could start in womb, research says
Getty ImagesYoung children's food preferences could be influenced by the diet of their mothers during pregnancy, researchers have said.
The reactions of three-year-olds to the smell of carrots or leafy kale were recorded and analysed as part of a long-running study led by Durham University, which previously investigated the impact on babies.
Toddlers whose mothers had taken carrot or kale powder capsules during pregnancy were found to be less likely to show a negative reaction to their smell, the academics said.
"This suggests that being exposed to a particular flavour in late pregnancy can potentially shape food preferences years after birth," Prof Nadja Reissland said.
In the earlier studies, researchers used ultrasound scans to observe the facial expressions of unborn babies during pregnancy after their mothers took the capsules.
Twelve of those children were then selected to take part in the follow-up study three years later.
The children were filmed smelling wet cotton swabs dipped in either carrot or kale powder, with their expressions monitored and compared to their reactions in the womb.
Reissland said the children showed a "genuine response" and were not believed to be acting.
She advised mothers-to-be to eat a varied diet of different fruit and vegetables to broaden the flavour palette of their children.
Co-author Dr Beyza Ustun-Elayan suggested the findings could "open up new ways of thinking about early dietary interventions".
The research was funded by a grant from Aston University and the study is being published in the Developmental Psychobiology journal.
