Are You Overfeeding Your Baby?

A recent study found that overweight children between four and 18 months were consuming larger meals than children of a healthy weight.

20:59 09 June 2016

A University College London’s report has found that some parents are inadvertently overfeeding their babies without realising the danger of them being overweight.

 

The study, which looked at eating diaries parents kept for 2,564 children showing what children ate, how often they were eating and the size of their portions, found that children who were overweight were consuming larger meals that their counterparts (141 calories versus 130 calories).

 

The author, Hayley Syrad, said: "The research suggests eating frequency is having no impact on weight and it's not that parents of larger children are giving them an extra Mars bar or apple - it's that their portions are bigger."

She added: "We know that even birth weight tracks into later life. If children are overweight when they are under two it tracks into adulthood.

"A bigger baby is likely to be a bigger child and then a bigger adult."

 

The Public Health England admits that "very little official guidance on precisely how much food children require".

 

But it says: "A good rule of thumb is to start meals with small servings and let your child ask for more if they are still hungry.

 

"Try not to make your child finish everything on the plate or eat more than they want to. And avoid using adult-size plates for younger children as it encourages them to eat oversized portions."