Getting children to eat their vegetables starts in the womb, researchers suggest

Parents often struggle to get their children to eat vegetables. Some try books, hiding veggies in other foods, or even bribery. However, new research suggests a different approach might be more effective, starting even before a baby is born.

Early Exposure Shapes Preferences

A study found that young children reacted less negatively to the smell of vegetables they were exposed to repeatedly while in the womb. This suggests that what a mother eats during pregnancy could influence her child's food preferences for years. Professor Nadja Reissland from Durham University, the study's lead author, believes this could lead to a healthier population.

Researchers gave pregnant women capsules containing either kale powder or carrot powder. They then observed the facial reactions of their babies to the smell of carrots or kale. This was done using ultrasound before birth and again when the babies were about three weeks old. Most recently, 12 of these children were observed at age three.

The results were consistent. Children whose mothers had consumed carrots reacted positively to the smell of carrots and grimaced at kale. Similarly, children whose mothers had consumed kale were happy to smell kale but not carrots. Professor Reissland noted that these patterns were seen before birth, at three weeks, and at three years old.

She explained that exposure to a specific flavor in late pregnancy can create a lasting memory of that flavor or smell in children. This can potentially shape their food preferences years after they are born. The researchers used powder capsules because some pregnant women found it difficult to drink large amounts of kale or carrot juice.

Future Implications and Research

While the current study involved a small group of mothers and children, Professor Reissland hopes for more funding to conduct a larger study. She believes that giving vegetable powder capsules to pregnant women could be a low-cost way to promote healthier eating habits in the population.

This idea could also be adapted for different cultures. For example, exposing a fetus to the flavors of fish in a culture where fish is a staple could encourage healthy eating later in life.

Dr. Beyza Ustun-Elayan from the University of Cambridge, a co-author, highlighted that these findings offer new ways to think about early dietary interventions. She noted that flavors from a mother's diet during pregnancy might subtly influence a child's responses to foods years later. Dr. Benoist Schaal from the CNRS in France added that the study confirms human fetuses can sense food flavors eaten by pregnant mothers, which may affect their preferences after birth. More research is needed on other smells and their effects on the fetus and child.

Professor Reissland also pointed out that much is still unknown about what affects a fetus, including the presence of artificial sweeteners in many products.

Deep Dive & References: Do Human Fetuses Form Long-Lasting Chemosensory Memories? - Developmental Psychobiology, 2026