Full text of article can be found at: http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=sciencenews&StoryID=568949 excerpt of note: Washington: Studies Show Health Dangers of Overfeeding Infants EARLY INFANCY A CRITICAL PERIOD Law's team did not find that babies less than a year old who gained weight quickly were prone to high blood pressure. But a study published in the journal Pediatrics (1) on Monday found that infants who gained the most weight during the first four months of life were more likely to be obese as children. "Early infancy seems to be a critical period for the establishment of obesity. Babies double their birth weight during the first four to six months, so this may be a period for the establishment of weight regulation," said Dr. Nicolas Stettler of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, who led the Pediatrics study. His team found that babies who gained 3.5 ounces above the normal weight gain each month had a 25 percent increased risk of being overweight by the age of seven. --->>>Stettler says there may be an easy way to prevent putting on too much weight too fast -- following the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines. Those guidelines recommend giving a baby nothing but breast milk up to the age of six months, adding solid food slowly after that, and continuing breast milk for the first year.<<<--- 1 Nicolas Stettler, Babette S. Zemel, Shiriki Kumanyika, and Virginia A. Stallings Infant Weight Gain and Childhood Overweight Status in a Multicenter, Cohort Study Pediatrics 2002 109: 194-199 Ann Marie Henninger, RN, BSN, sitting for IBCLC exam July 2002 New Family Services Lactation Counselor/Home Visit RN Olympic Medical Center --- Port Angeles, WA