A Queensland University of Technology (QUT) research programme looking at nutrition and feeding practices in babies and toddlers will receive $330,000 in extra funding from Heinz.
The programme's core project is Nourish: Your Child's Future Health Today. It started this year and will monitor the feeding habits and preferences of a large group of children up to age two.
The Nourish project is funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council, and now Heinz is offering additional support. The money from Heinz will be used to support a post-doctoral fellow participating in the research.
It also aims to find out more about how first-time mothers approach feeding their children, as well as the impact of nutritional education and peer support.
A representative from Heinz will visit QUT's Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI) today to talk about the project.
So far, 434 mothers have been enrolled in Brisbane and Adelaide, and researchers, led by Professor Lynne Daniels from the Faculty of Health, are currently seeking an additional 200 to 250 mothers, as well as funding to extend to five years.
"We are working with first-time mothers, and looking at the when, what and how of feeding these infants solids," said Professor Daniels.
"The purpose of this study is to promote healthy growth and eating habits; we will be following the progress of the children and looking at a range of areas, including feeding practices, the child's growth and food intake and preferences of the child.
"We are also looking at the way mothers approach feeding - whether they use food as a reward or to calm their child, or whether they pressure the child to eat."
Professor Daniels said it was likely that the sorts of foods children were offered from babyhood had a major impact on what they learnt to like through the rest of their lives.
"This is easy to see just from travelling - kids in Asia will happily eat foods that most Australian kids would never eat, so of course that goes back to what they are used to getting," she said.
"Many parents use foods for emotional reasons and practise coercive feeding, which may lead to problems later."
Results from the QUT study will be used by the Heinz Infant Feeding Advisory Service, a network of maternal child health nurses which provides new mothers with education about infant nutrition.
Heinz corporate nutritionist Heather Ferguson said the company was enthusiastic about the research, as they had a strong focus on healthy infant nutrition.
"Heinz is delighted to be contributing to this important research by QUT," she said.
"It will lay educational foundations for the future health of all Australians and will ensure that Heinz Infant Feeding Advisory Service remains at the forefront of promoting best-practice in infant feeding."
Media contact: Sharon Thompson, QUT media officer - 3138 4494 or sharon.thompson@qut.edu.au
