Blog Article
Project Aims
Within the UK, there are various issues associated with eating disorders that contribute to health problems for many of the adult population, with 64.2% of adults either overweight or obese across the UK in 2019 (House of Commons Obesity Statistics, 2022). Research into the issue of obesity has highlighted the importance of starting healthy eating habits in the early years in order to prevent later issues in adulthood (Birch 2011; WHO, 2017).
Positive eating experiences can be encouraged in the early years when early childhood practitioners offer environments that nurture children’s exploration of healthy food at mealtimes. An awareness of infant development of taste, including vocabulary or vocalisations that communicate pleasurable eating experiences have been explored in current research on infant feeding practices (Wiggins & Keevallik, 2020) and could be key to the holistic positive experiences that support early healthy eating practices.
Research Team
- Professor Amanda Bateman
- Anonymous ECEC setting Mid-Wales
Research Impacts
This research aims to extend this prior work to explore infant feeding practices in one early childhood education settings in Mid-Wales. The aim is to provide examples of everyday infant feeding practices that could offer advice on how to support positive eating experiences for infants to early childhood practitioners and provide the basis for a subsequent larger study.
For more information on the project contact Amanda.bateman@bcu.ac.uk