[Effect of feeding pattern on the body mass of infants in the first six months of life].

AIMS

To compare the body mass patterns of breastfed and formula fed Polish infants in the first 6 months of life and to compare the results with the current Polish data.

METHODS

Data was taken from the last country-wide survey conducted in 1997. The group of 14116 infants under 6 months were in the original cohort. The final sample consisted of: 4546 exclusively breastfed (2228 male, 2318 female) and 391 formula fed (214 male, 177 female) healthy infants, weighing > 2500 g at birth. The infants were weighed at birth and again on the day of the interview. The 24-hours recall period data for feeding practices was collected.

RESULTS

Mean body mass of exclusively breastfed boys was greater in the period from 2 to 5 months (in month 3 the difference was statistically significant) in comparison with formula fed boys. Mean body mass of exclusively breastfed girls was greater for each month from birth to 6 months (in month 3 and 6 the difference was statistically significant) in comparison with formula fed girls. Compared with current Warsaw data, the infants of the analysed groups grew less rapidly.

CONCLUSION

Our analysis shows that exclusively breastfed Polish infants in the first 6 months of life gained weight better than formula fed infants. Independently of feeding mode, gender and age, the mean body mass was lower in the examined infants as compared with the current Warsaw data. A reference body mass data based on breastfed infants is needed in Poland.