Baby-led weaning (BLW) supporters suggest that it allows the child to be in control of how much they eat as they were when they were breast or formula feeding.
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‘Baby-led weaning (BLW) supporters suggest that it allows the child to be in control of how much they eat as they were when they were breast or formula feeding.’
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"We found that infants following BLW were more likely to be exclusively breastfed to six months of age, and to wait until then to start solids -- which is great news," Dr Heath says. They were also more likely to eat meals with their family which should have long-term benefits as they grow. But, surprisingly, they were eating more fat, and had lower intakes of iron, zinc and vitamin B12 than spoon-fed babies, she says. 
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"Supporters of BLW suggest that it allows the child to be in control of how much they eat as they were when they were breast or formula feeding. Some healthcare professionals have been concerned that this may lead to poorer nutrition and more choking in these infants," Dr Heath says.
To investigate the latter claims Dr Heath and colleagues compared dietary intake and feeding behaviours in 51 age-matched and sex-matched infants between six and eight months of age. Eighteen were following full BLW, seven partial BLW and 26 were spoon-fed.
They found that the BLW infants had similar energy intakes to those who were spoon-fed, but appeared to have higher intakes of total fat, saturated fat, and fat as a percentage of energy. "In contrast, average intakes of iron, zinc, and vitamin B12 were lower in the full BLW group," Dr Heath says.
In the study the researchers write that they "observed that a worryingly high number of parents in all three groups were offering foods thought to pose a choking risk". For the BLW group the most commonly consumed choking risk foods were raw vegetables, raw apple and dried fruit, while for the spoon-fed group it was rusks, small pieces of meat, crackers and corn kernels. Dr Heath says that further research in a larger group of infants is needed to confirm the study's overall findings.
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Source-Eurekalert