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Role of prolonged breast feeding in infant growth
Insights
This study followed 238 infants for one year, comparing breast milk, proprietary formula, and cow's milk. Findings suggest current Finnish infant feeding guidelines help prevent overnutrition and obesity.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Nutrition Science
- Public Health
Background:
- Infant nutrition significantly impacts long-term health outcomes.
- Overnutrition and childhood obesity are growing public health concerns.
- Understanding optimal infant feeding practices is crucial for preventing obesity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the growth of healthy full-term infants under a monitored nutritional protocol.
- To compare the effects of prolonged breastfeeding versus early weaning to formula on infant growth.
- To assess the impact of current Finnish infant feeding recommendations on preventing overnutrition.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of 238 healthy full-term infants during their first year of life.
- Monitored nutritional protocol including breastfeeding, proprietary formula, and home-prepared cow's milk formula.
- Comparison of growth parameters (weight, weight-for-height-age, skinfold thickness) between feeding groups.
Main Results:
- Breastfed infants (≥6 months) showed similar growth to proprietary formula-fed infants.
- Cow's milk-fed infants exhibited higher growth metrics compared to breastfed and proprietary formula-fed infants at 6 months.
- No cases of obesity and only 1.7% overweight infants were observed using weight-for-height-age criteria.
Conclusions:
- Current Finnish infant feeding recommendations, including prolonged breastfeeding and appropriate formula use, effectively prevent overnutrition.
- Proprietary infant milk formulas appear to support healthy growth comparable to prolonged breastfeeding.
- Home-prepared cow's milk formulas may lead to accelerated growth in infants.
Abstract:
The growth of 238 healthy full-term infants was followed under a carefully monitored nutritional protocol during the first year of life. The infants were weaned at different ages either to a proprietary infant milk formula or to a home-prepared cow's milk formula. Solid foods were introduced at 3.5 months of age. The 56 infants who were breast-fed for a period of at least 6 months were compared to infants weaned prior to one month of age to one of the two milk regimens. In the breast-fed infants, the weight, weight-for-height-age, and skinfold thickness were similar to values in the proprietary formula-fed infants but were lower than the corresponding values in the cow's milk-fed infants at 6 months of age and subsequently. By using weight-for-height-age as a criterion, no obesity was found among any of the 238 infants, and only 1.7% were considered to be overweight. The results indicate that present recommendations for infant feeding in Finland--including prolonged breast feeding, the use of proprietary milk formulas after weaning, and later introduction of solid foods--prevent overnutrition.