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Why Your Baby’s Diet Matters Long-Term

Written by Katie Hintz-Zambrano

Photography by Photo Via PopSugar

Have a picky baby? A new study finds that his or her eating habits for the first 12 months of life could effect what they eat during their big kid days, as well.

The research, dubbed “Infant Feeding Practices Study II,” comes from the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and focuses on 1,500 mothers, surveyed over the first six years of their children’s lives.

Some of the biggest takeaways, culled together by HuffPo, include the following:

  • Babies that breastfeed longer tend to eat more water, fruit, and veggies, and also consume less sugar-sweetened beverages once they are 6-years-old.
  • Babies that breastfeed longer also tend to have less cases of ear, throat, and sinus infections.
  • Babies who rarely consume fruits and veggies in their first year are less likely to eat them later on.
  • Babies who consume sweetened beverages, like juice, have double the chances of continuing to do so at 6-years-old.
  • Babies who drank sweetened drinks three times a week between 10 and 12 months old are twice as likely to be obsese by 6-years-old.

Feel like you’ve already blundered on all of the above, baby mamas? Not to worry. If you’ve got a juice fiend on your hands, make sure you’re diluting it with lots of water, filling that sippy cup with mostly H20 and just enough juice to flavor it. Trust us, your baby is not going to know the difference (ours doesn’t).

As for instilling a love for fruits and veggies early on, try some of our yummy puree recipes and these five kid-friendly smoothies, that are chockfull of all of the good stuff.

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