A total of 232 children in the study were conducted at Umeå University between 2015 and 2020.  

125 children got to try a Nordic diet that was extra rich in vegetables, root vegetables, berries and fruit, and with 30 percent less protein.

They were not allowed to eat sweet potatoes, bananas, mangoes and avocados, for example.

The other children in the control group ate food according to the National Food Administration's recommendations.  

- We focused a lot on bitter and sour flavors from the Nordic countries.

This is often not what you introduce.

We have already developed sweet taste in the fetal stage, so we do not need to practice that.

When the child is between four months and up to a year old, the brain is receptive to those tastes, says Ulrica Johansson, dietitian and researcher at Umeå University.

Can be influenced by the children

The results show that the children in the study group at 12 to 18 months of age still ate 32 percent more vegetables and fruit than the control group.

- It shows that it is possible to influence taste preferences early and that it remains in adulthood, says Ulrica Johansson.

The researchers believe that the study is unique and that no similar study has been done in Sweden before.

- There is little or no research at all on food for young children.

There is a gap in research, says Ulrica Johansson.

"A gold mine"

The researchers followed the children's height and weight, analyzed blood samples, body composition and followed the parents' food diaries.

Children's developmental levels and genetics have also been looked at.

A dentist has also looked at the children's saliva.

The researchers will then follow up when the children are seven years old.

- It is a goldmine of information that we have collected to look at how children eat in Sweden today, says Ulrica Johansson.

She wants to see advice to parents about baby food improved.

- Parents need more support than they get today.

The wish is that they receive more parental support and education than that you receive a brochure.

Many are confused and do not know where to start.

We wish there was a guide to a taste learning.

It absolutely does not exist today.