Department of Behavioral Health and Nutrition, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA.
Int Rev Psychiatry. 2012 Jun;24(3):219-30. doi: 10.3109/09540261.2012.675573.
Diet in early infancy has an impact on early growth and the formation of flavour preferences, as well as on later life health outcomes. Although breast milk is the preferred source of nutrition during infancy, more than half of American infants receive infant formula by the age of 4 months. As a group, formula-fed infants weigh more by the age of one year and have a greater risk for later obesity than breastfed infants. However, a recent randomized study found that, when compared to breastfed infants, infants fed an extensively hydrolysed protein formula (ePHF) had more normative weight gain velocity than infants fed cow's milk formula (CMF). Therefore, grouping all formula-fed infants together with respect to certain health outcomes such as obesity may not be appropriate. Scientific evidence also suggests that there are sensitive periods for flavour learning. Infants become familiar with and learn to accept the flavours they experience through their mother's amniotic fluid and breast milk as well as formula. These early experiences influence flavour preferences of children that may affect food choices and therefore later life health. Further research on the influence of early diet on growth, flavour preferences, and food choices is imperative.
婴儿期的饮食会影响早期生长和口味偏好的形成，以及以后的健康结果。虽然母乳是婴儿期首选的营养来源，但超过一半的美国婴儿在 4 个月大时就开始接受婴儿配方奶粉。作为一个群体，配方奶喂养的婴儿在一岁时体重更重，而且比母乳喂养的婴儿更容易肥胖。然而，最近一项随机研究发现，与母乳喂养的婴儿相比，食用高度水解蛋白配方奶粉（ePHF）的婴儿体重增长速度比食用牛奶配方奶粉（CMF）的婴儿更正常。因此，将所有配方奶喂养的婴儿归为一类，认为他们在肥胖等某些健康结果方面存在共性，可能并不合适。科学证据还表明，口味学习存在敏感时期。婴儿通过母亲的羊水和母乳以及配方奶粉熟悉并接受他们所体验到的味道。这些早期的经历会影响儿童的口味偏好，这可能会影响他们的食物选择，进而影响他们以后的健康。进一步研究早期饮食对生长、口味偏好和食物选择的影响是至关重要的。
