WEANING babies on finger foods rather than spoon-fed purees could prevent them becoming obese in later childhood, according to new research.

Allowing babies to feed themselves from a selection of foods, including bread, means they learn to regulate their own food intake.

Babies who self-feed with solids are also more likely to prefer carbohydrates than spoon-fed babies, who tend to favour sweet things, the study found.

Researchers from the University of Nottingham analysed two methods of weaning – baby-led weaning with finger foods, versus traditional spoon-feeding by parents.

Parents filled in questionnaires on how their children had been weaned, including how often they ate certain foods.

They noted their child's preference for 151 foods broken down into categories such as carbohydrates, proteins, fruit, savoury snacks, dairy and "whole meals" such as lasagne.

The results showed no difference in picky eating between the groups but slightly less obesity in the baby-led group.

These children also had a "significantly increased liking for carbohydrates", which was their favourite food, compared to those who had been spoon-fed, who favoured sweet things.

The authors, writing in the journal BMJ Open, concluded: "Our results suggest that infants weaned through the baby-led approach learn to regulate their food intake in a manner which leads to a lower BMI (body mass index) and a preference for healthy foods like carbohydrates.

"This has implications for combating the well-documented rise of obesity in contemporary societies."

They added: "Our findings show that baby-led weaning has a positive impact on the liking for carbohydrates – foods that form the building blocks of healthy nutrition.

"This is a significant finding since, to date, the factors thought to be most influential on early food preferences are sweetness and familiarity (exposure)."

The 155 children were aged between 20 months and six years when their parents completed the questionnaires.

Tam Fry, from the National Obesity Forum, said: "Babies have this wonderful rapport with their mother when breastfeeding and indicate how much milk they want and when they are ready to go on to solids."

Therefore, it "seems quite logical" that they may also know best when it comes to food while being weaned, he corr said.