United Kingdom Department of Health and Social Services 'Present-day infant feeding practice' and its influence on infant growth

摘要

The dietary advice set out by the Department of Health and Social Services in 'Present-day Practice in Infant Feeding' differed substantially from the practices which were current when the booklet was produced, as well as from those which were common when the NCHS (Hamill, 1977) and Tanner, Whitehouse & Takaishi (1966) growth reference standards were being compiled. This short review assesses the likely consequences for infant growth if the DHSS advice were more widely adopted. We have been investigating prospectively derived growth patterns in the city of Cambridge, where a much higher proportion than usual of mothers have changed their infants' feeding practices in accordance with official recommendations.