Little Brains, Big Emotions: How Babies React to Food After Feeling Frustrated

Ever wondered how babies react to food when they're feeling upset? Scientists wanted to know too. They brought 12-month-old babies into a lab. First, the babies ate lunch until they were full. Then, they had to do something frustrating. While the babies wore special caps to measure brain activity, they looked at pictures of foods they liked and other stuff. The scientists noticed something interesting. Babies who didn't get very upset showed more interest in the non-food pictures. But some babies who got more frustrated showed stronger brain activity towards the food pictures. This might mean that when babies feel upset, they might be more drawn to food. Parents also played a role. When parents used food to calm their babies down, the babies showed more interest in both food and non-food pictures. This suggests that how parents feed their babies can affect their brain responses. The study shows that even at 12 months old, babies' brains react differently to food based on their emotions. But it's still not clear how much parents influence these reactions. The scientists think that understanding these early brain responses might help us learn more about emotional eating later in life.