First Bite: How We Learn To Eat

Wilson (Consider the Fork) draws on research from food psychologists, neuroscientists, and nutritionists to reveal that food-related habits are shaped by multiple factors including family, culture, memory, gender, hunger, and love. Featured here are people who only eat foods of a certain color, toddlers whose preferences are limited to hot dogs and grilled cheese sandwiches, and researchers who have pioneered effective ways to introduce new foods into a child's diet. While there are many solid books about getting children and babies to eat, ranging from straightforward cookbooks to more detailed feeding manuals such as Jill Castle and Maryann Jacobsen's Fearless Feeding, most focus on the practical aspects; not on the reasons behind developing food habits. With chapters addressing particular foods such as milk and cake and discussions on topics including eating disorders, pickiness, and binging, this book provides in-depth discussion of what makes us indulge, enjoy, crave, dislike, and choose the tastes and provisions that we do.