A small UK study has shown that a baby’s weight may be linked to the type of weaning – either baby-led (where the baby picks at finger foods and feeds themselves) or spoon-fed.
Spoon-fed babies had a stronger preference for sweet foods and were more likely to be overweight, compared to the baby-led group who had a stronger preference for carbohydrates (like toast) and were more likely to be normal weight or underweight (although they weren’t exposed to as many different foods as the spoon-fed group).