Summary of main results

1. Figure 1 shows that after two months total energy intakes were substantially below FAD/WHO recommendations for the average child and there was little difference whether the children were wholly or partially breast-fed. After two to three months there was almost no further rise in intake, although between then and the seventh month the children increased in weight by a further 43 per cent.

2. Body weight ranged within about 3 kg at any given age, as shown in table 1. The total energy intake of individual babies depended mainly on how heavy they were, but it became more consistent when adjusted for body weight.

3 Figure 2 shows the infants' anthropometric data compared with the Tanner-Whitehouse standards for British babies. The biggest difference between the measurements made and the standard was in triceps skin-fold thickness, which suggests that one consequence of the lower energy intakes might be a reduction in body-fat stores.