Early Taste Formation

Children under about age two are especially susceptible to having taste preferences shaped by repeated foods. Repeated sweetened snacks, processed carbohydrates, and packaged foods may orient infants' and toddlers' palates toward sugar and soft processed textures. Repeated exposure to strong, savory, bitter, fatty, and varied whole foods may make children more accepting of those foods later. Early food exposure affects taste preferences, which then influence food choices and broader health and food relationship outcomes.