Infants outgrowing a liquid diet who give themselves finger food rather than being spoon-fed puree are likelier to eat healthily and avoid getting fat during weaning, a new study reports.

Researchers found that the technique, known as "baby-led weaning", led to a child expressing a clear preference for pasta, rice and other carbohydrates over sweets, thus helping to cement a foundation for eating the right foods.

Experts and parents alike have long debated over when and how to help an infant make the transition from mother's milk or the bottle to a solid-food regimen.

Ellen Townsend and Nicola Pitchford of the University of Nottingham designed a study that looked at the eating habits of 155 children during weaning, a period that ranged from 20 months to six and six months old.

Sixty percent of the kids had been allowed to feed themselves finger foods, such as strips of toast and pieces of fruit, while the remaining 40 percent had been spoon-fed pureed foods throughout the weaning process.

The research, published in the British Medical Journal (NMJ), was based on a questionnaire answered by parents in the region.

"Our results suggest that baby-led weaning promotes healthy food preferences in early childhood that could protect against obesity," the study concludes.