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. 2023 Sep 15;15(18):4004.
doi: 10.3390/nu15184004.

Formula Feeding Is Associated with Rapid Weight Gain between 6 and 12 Months of Age: Highlighting the Importance of Developing Specific Recommendations to Prevent Overfeeding

Jigna M Dharod  1 , Kristen S McElhenny  1 , Jasmine M DeJesus  2
Affiliations

Formula Feeding Is Associated with Rapid Weight Gain between 6 and 12 Months of Age: Highlighting the Importance of Developing Specific Recommendations to Prevent Overfeeding

Jigna M Dharod et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

We examined differences in mean daily calorie intake and rapid weight gain risk among 6- to 12-month-old infants by milk feeding status: breastmilk only, breastmilk and formula (combined), or formula only. Another objective was to determine what frequency and amount of formula fed were associated with overfeeding among infants. Mother-infant dyads (n = 240) were recruited from a pediatric clinic mainly serving Medicaid recipients. At 6, 9, and 12 months of infants' age, 24 h feeding recalls were conducted using the multiple-pass method. Infant weight measurements were accessed from clinic records to estimate rapid weight gain between 6 and 12 months. Among the participants, 82% received WIC. More than half of the participants were either African American or Latino by race/ethnicity. Calorie intake among formula-only fed infants was higher than in the other two milk feeding groups. One-fourth of the infants were experiencing rapid weight gain, and the risk was 3-fold higher among formula-only fed infants. Exceeding daily calorie requirements or overfeeding was associated with both formula amount and the frequency of feeding (p < 0.01). Specific guidelines and education on formula feeding practices are critical to prevent accelerated growth among infants. Gaining further understanding on parenting style and formula feeding practices is also warranted.

Keywords: infancy; milk feeding; rapid weight gain.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

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