Effect of food texture on the development of chewing of children between six months and two years of age.

One hundred and forty-three healthy children between six months and two years of age were studied to determine the effect of food texture on chewing duration. Texture determined very strongly how long a bite of food was chewed, with solids taking longest, followed by viscous food and purée, respectively. As children got older they became more efficient at chewing a comparable bite of food, i.e. chewing time decreased for each texture. Correlations between chewing duration and growth measures (length, weight, head circumference) were observed mainly for the viscous texture. Growth measures did not significantly influence chewing measures. These results differ from previous findings of a strong association between weight and eating ability of children with severe eating impairments.