‘Learning to Eat’: The Role of early life texture experience in the development of eating behaviours

Eating behaviors develop in early life and are further refined during childhood, shaping life-long food habits and dietary patterns.  New-born infants rely on innate reflexes such as sucking, swallowing, and rooting to meet their daily energy and nutrient requirements¹.  During infancy and early childhood, children have high nutrient and energy requirements relative to their size, due to the energy cost of growth and development. Importantly, the eating skills and texture experiences acquired and refined in early life also have a direct influence on the development of oral anatomy and physiology².