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