Seven in 10 mothers choose formula powder instead of breast-feeding their babies, and many are unclear about the long-term impact of early nutrition, a survey found.
Only 30 per cent of the 504 mothers with children under three would feed them breast milk, the Chinese University poll discovered.
While the majority of the respondents recognised the benefits of breast milk, 70 per cent of them fed their babies infant formula in the first six months, because of insufficient milk supply or work commitments.
Ellis Hon Kam-lun, a paediatrics professor at Chinese University, said parents often choose the most nutritious formula powder regardless of their babies' weight and height.
A clinical study of Asian infants found human milk contains 11-12 grams of protein per litre, compared with 14.1 grams in standard formula and 12.8 in lower-protein formula. 'Almost half of the parents interviewed were unclear about the long-term impact of early nutrition,' Hon said. 'The babies might be fed with highly nutritious food in the early stages of development. Then they would be considered healthy, but this is a misconception.'
For example, children with too high a protein intake may face a higher risk of obesity and cardiovascular disease when they grow up.
