Author: Mennella JA et al
Source: Early Human Development 68 (2002) 71-82.
This study examined the relationship between formula selection in infancy and food preferences later in childhood. Four and five-year old children were evenly split into three groups based on what type of formula they consumed as a baby (milk-based, soy or protein-hydrolysate). Infants who had been breastfed were not included in the study. The study was carried out in a two-part study. The children smelled vials of certain kinds of odors (the three types of formula above, bubble gum, lemon and a sour-milk smell), and then drank cups of flavored apple juice (sour, bitter and unaltered), along with cups of the three different types of formula identified above.
The children sat at a table with two Sesame Street characters present. They were instructed to ?give? the vial or cup to Big Bird if they liked the smell/taste tested, or to give it to Oscar the Grouch if they did not. All test sessions were videotaped and professional testers watched the tapes to rate the amount of times the children accepted or rejected certain tastes/smells (based on certain facial expressions or body language). The parents were seated so the children could not see them. The mothers completed a questionnaire about their child?s food preferences and also completed a food acceptance scale.
The study found that children who drank protein-hydrolysate formulas as infants preferred the sour flavored juice and made fewer negative facial expressions when drinking the hydrolysate formula than the other children who consumed different formulas. Children who drank soy formulas preferred the bitter flavored juice. When the food questionaire was reviewed, it was found that children who drank hydrolysate or soy formulas ate broccoli much more frequently than children who drank milk-based formulas.
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