Breastfeeding provides the optimum nutrition for young infants and one of the aims of the new UK-World Health Organization growth charts is to encourage healthcare professionals and parents to see breastfed infants' growth rate as the norm. Formula-fed infants gain weight more quickly than breastfed infants in the first year of life, and this may be because of the greater quantity of protein in infant formula. Childhood obesity rates are increasing and obesity is probably the result of a multitude of factors. Observational studies have indicated that rapid growth in infancy may contribute to a later risk of obesity. New randomised controlled studies have shown that lower protein levels in infant formula can slow infants' weight gain, and this may offer short-and long-term health benefits. New innovations in protein quality now allow reductions in the total protein content of infant formula.
Breastfeeding provides the optimum nutrition for infants, supplying macro-and micronutrients in readily absorbable forms. It is almost 100 years since the first artificial feeds were created in an attempt to 'humanise' cows' milk. Formula improvements have taken place over the decades; advances in food technology supported by clinical studies have contributed to the aim of matching the composition and functional outcomes of breastmilk in formula manufacture. It is possible to alter the structure of triglycerides in vegetable oil, in order to more closely match their composition and structure in breastmilk fat. Clinical research in infant formula for pre-term and term infants supports the safety and beneficial nutritional outcomes of this innovation, which are the subject of a health claim submission currently being evaluated by the European Food Safety Authority.
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