Researchers are testing a new digital program called “Tiny Bites” designed to help childcare centers and parents feed babies in healthier ways during their first year of life. The study will follow 540 babies and their families in Australia over 18 months to see if this app-based approach helps prevent childhood obesity. The program sends parents text messages and newsletters with feeding tips, while childcare centers get training and resources. This is one of the first major studies to test whether teaching better feeding practices early on can actually keep babies at a healthier weight as they grow.

The Quick Take

  • What they studied: Does a digital health program that teaches childcare workers and parents about responsive feeding (feeding babies when they’re hungry, not on a schedule) help babies stay at a healthier weight?
  • Who participated: The study will include 540 babies between 4 and 12 months old and their primary caregivers, along with 60 childcare centers in the Hunter New England region of New South Wales, Australia.
  • Key finding: This is a study protocol (a plan for research), not yet completed research. The team will measure whether babies in the Tiny Bites program have healthier weights compared to babies receiving regular care after 18 months.
  • What it means for you: If successful, this program could offer parents and childcare centers an easy, phone-based way to learn feeding practices that might help prevent obesity in babies. However, results won’t be available until the study is complete.

The Research Details

This is a cluster randomized controlled trial, which means childcare centers (not individual families) are randomly assigned to either receive the Tiny Bites program or continue with their usual practices. This type of design is useful because it tests how programs work in real childcare settings. The study will last 18 months and track babies from when they’re 4-12 months old until they’re older toddlers.

The Tiny Bites program has two main parts: childcare centers get access to an online platform, training materials, and support from the research team; parents receive text messages, monthly newsletters, and tips about responsive feeding. Responsive feeding means watching for a baby’s hunger and fullness cues rather than forcing them to finish bottles or eat on a strict schedule.

The researchers will compare the weight measurements of babies in the Tiny Bites program to babies in childcare centers that continue with regular practices. They’ll also look at other important outcomes like how long babies breastfeed, what they eat, and whether parents and childcare workers actually use the recommended feeding practices.

Most obesity prevention programs focus on older children, but research shows that feeding habits formed in the first 2 years of life can affect weight throughout childhood and adulthood. By testing an intervention early and in real childcare settings (where many babies spend time), this study could identify a practical way to prevent obesity before it starts. Testing it in childcare centers is smart because these facilities care for many babies and can spread healthy practices widely.

This study has strong quality features: it’s a randomized controlled trial (the gold standard for testing whether something works), it includes ethics approval from multiple institutions, it’s being registered publicly so results can’t be hidden, and it measures real-world outcomes in actual childcare settings. The study is large enough (540 babies) to detect meaningful differences. However, since this is the study protocol (the plan), we don’t yet know if the program will actually work—that’s what the research will determine.

What the Results Show

This document is a study protocol, meaning the research hasn’t been completed yet. The researchers are describing their plan to test the Tiny Bites program, but actual results won’t be available until the 18-month study period is finished and data is analyzed. The primary outcome they’ll measure is whether babies in the Tiny Bites program have healthier weight-for-age measurements compared to babies in regular childcare centers.

Beyond weight, the researchers will also examine: how long babies continue to receive breastmilk, what foods babies eat, whether parents and childcare workers actually adopt the responsive feeding practices they’re taught, changes in childcare center policies about feeding, how much the program costs, and how engaged families and centers are with the program.

This study fills an important gap in research. While many studies show that feeding practices in infancy affect later weight, very few randomized controlled trials have tested whether teaching better feeding practices actually prevents obesity. Most previous obesity prevention programs target older children. This study is unique because it combines digital tools (texts, newsletters, online platforms) with in-person support in childcare settings, which is a practical approach for reaching many families.

Since this is a study protocol, we can’t yet assess how well the program actually works. The study is limited to one region of Australia, so results might not apply everywhere. The program relies on parents and childcare workers engaging with the materials, so success depends on their participation. Measuring responsive feeding practices can be challenging, and some families might drop out during the 18-month study period.

The Bottom Line

This is preliminary research still in progress, so no recommendations can be made yet. Once results are published, parents and childcare centers should look for evidence that the program actually improves child weight outcomes before adopting it widely. The approach of teaching responsive feeding is supported by existing research, but this specific digital program needs to prove its effectiveness.

Parents of babies under 12 months, childcare center directors and staff, pediatricians, and public health officials interested in obesity prevention should follow this research. Once completed, it could be particularly valuable for childcare centers looking for evidence-based ways to support healthy feeding practices.

The study will take 18 months to complete data collection, plus additional time for analysis and publication. Results likely won’t be available for 2-3 years. If the program proves effective, it would take additional time for training materials to be developed and rolled out to other childcare centers.

Want to Apply This Research?

  • Once the Tiny Bites program is available, parents could track their baby’s feeding cues (hunger and fullness signals) and responsive feeding practices using the app’s features, noting how often they feed on demand versus on a schedule.
  • Parents could use the app to receive and review weekly tips about responsive feeding, set reminders to watch for their baby’s hunger cues, and log feeding sessions to increase awareness of their baby’s natural eating patterns.
  • The app could help parents track their baby’s weight at regular checkups and compare it to healthy growth charts, while also monitoring their own confidence in responsive feeding practices through periodic check-in surveys.

This article describes a research study protocol—the plan for research that hasn’t been completed yet. The Tiny Bites program has not yet been proven to prevent childhood obesity. Parents should not make feeding decisions based on this protocol alone. Always consult with your pediatrician or healthcare provider about your baby’s feeding practices and growth. This information is for educational purposes and should not replace professional medical advice. Results from this study will need to be reviewed by healthcare professionals before being recommended for widespread use.