Government releases its first guidance in 24 YEARS on what to feed babies and when (and it’s bad news for parents who have been giving infants cows milk…)
- Data suggests 3 quarters of infants in the UK are being fed too many calories
- Experts hope the worrying trend will be reversed by the updated guidelines
- The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition made the recommendations
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.
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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.
COULD PARENTS SOON BE URGED TO GIVE THEIR BABIES VITAMIN A SUPPLEMENTS?
The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition yesterday urged the Government to review its advice on giving babies vitamin A supplements.
Current guidelines urge parents to give children over the age of six months several daily supplements, including vitamin A, vital for vision, growth and the immune system.
But the SACN argued there is a ‘low prevalence’ vitamin A deficiency in healthy infants in the UK, despite the low uptake of supplements.
It suggested this should prompt a review into the evidence of vitamin A, ‘particularly in light’ of some studies that show supplements could allow infants to have harmful amounts of the vitamin.
The SACN said: ‘It is recommended Government consider opportunities to review advice on supplements and foods containing vitamin A during infancy.’
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.
WHAT ARE THE FULL LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS?
- Mothers should breastfeed exclusively for around the first six months of an infant’s life and continue breastfeeding until they turn one
- Infant formula based on either cows’ or goats’ milk is the only suitable alternative to breast milk for babies under 12 months of age
- Soya-based formula should only be used on medical advice
- Infants should not start solid foods until around the age of six months
- Breast milk, infant formula and water should be the only drinks offered after six months of age
- Unmodified cows’ milk should not be given as a main drink to infants under 12 months of age
- A wide range of solid foods, including iron-containing foods, should be introduced in an age-appropriate form from around six months of age
- Dietary, flavour and texture diversification should proceed incrementally throughout the complementary feeding period
- Cut back on foods with added salt and free sugars during the complementary feeding period
- Healthy infants do not require iron supplements
- Infants exclusively breastfed should be given a daily supplement containing 8.5 to 10µg of vitamin D (340-400 IU/d)
- Peanuts and hen’s egg can be introduced from around six months of age and need not be differentiated from other solid foods
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