Government advisers yesterday released guidance for the first time in 24 years to help parents know what to feed their babies.
Data suggests three-quarters of infants in the UK are being fed too many calories, the major cause of obesity.
Experts hope the worrying trend will be reversed by the updated guidelines, issued by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN).
The body recommends that babies are:
- Introduced to solid foods at around six months old – before which they should be entirely breastfed. They should be occasionally breastfed until they turn one
- Not given cows’ milk until their first birthday, because studies have shown babies who drink it have lower iron levels
- Steered away from eating foods high in sugar and salt, amid the wealth of evidence that shows both can be harmful
- Introduced to peanuts and hens’ eggs when they are six months, as a delay in this could increase the risk of an allergy
Data suggests three-quarters of infants in the UK are being fed too many calories, the major cause of obesity
Officials made numerous recommendations in the 1970s and 1980s in an attempt to change the feeding habits of babies in light of emerging health benefits and risks.
But the last of those reports was published in the 1990s, and it has since provided much of the advice over the past two decades.
The SACN report read: ‘There has been no comprehensive risk assessment of infant and young child feeding in the UK since… 1994.’
Recommendations made by the group about peanuts, breastfeeding, cows’ milk and foods high in sugar and salt, are mostly already in place.
The Government already advises mothers feed their babies with breastmilk until they are at least six months, and only then gradually introduce solids.
And they say babies should not be given cows’ milk before they turn one, or foods high in sugar because they can rot their teeth.
Foods high in salt should also be avoided, the NHS says, as they can contribute to high blood pressure later in life and get infants hooked on salt.
Guidelines already exist to say it is safe for babies to be introduced to crushed or grounded peanuts at six months – as long as there is no family history of allergies.
Professor Louis Levy, head of nutrition science at Public Health England, welcomed the new ‘Feeding in the First Year of Life’ guidelines, the BBC reports.
He said ‘exclusive breastfeeding until six months of age and not introducing solid foods until around this time’ would help avoid infants becoming ‘too heavy’.
But the guidelines do not take into account the results of a major study last week, which showed the benefits of feeding babies solid food from three months.
Researchers funded by the Food Standards Agency and Medical Research Council found doing so could help babies sleep better and improve their long-term health.
The study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, suggested that current advice is flawed – and implied babies do better if solid food is given earlier, alongside breastmilk.
Parents have been told for years to delay introducing solid food, to encourage mothers to continue breastfeeding for as long as possible.
However, most mothers in Britain already ignore this advice, according to various official surveys of infant feeding habits.
Around 75 per cent introduce solids before five months, and a quarter do so to stop their babies becoming hungry overnight.
The NHS Choices website claims this is a mistake – and solid foods will not make babies more likely to sleep through the night.