Does an infant breast milk supplement commonly used in Sweden contribute to childhood obesity?

Many infants in Sweden are given milk cereal drinks, ready-to-mix liquid drink complements to breast milk, after six months of age. New research in Acta Paediatrica found evidence that these products are linked to early rapid weight gain but not to higher anthropometric measures—such as body mass index or waist-to-height ratio—later in childhood.

In the study of 1,333 children from three communities in Western Sweden, physical characteristics and food habits were collected in 2007–2008 family surveys. Follow-up data for 656 children were collected in 2013–2014.

At baseline, 820 (62%) of the 658 boys and 675 girls consumed milk cereal drinks, and 229 (18%) had early rapid weight gain between six and 12 months of age.

“Early consumption of milk cereal drinks was associated with early rapid weight gain without effects on later body mass index or waist-to-height ratio status six years later,” said corresponding author Annelie Lindholm, PhD, a senior lecturer at Halmstad University. “Early rapid weight gain, regardless of milk cereal drink consumption, was predictive of higher anthropometric measures later in childhood, though—particularly abdominal adiposity.”

URL upon publication: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/apa.17515