Milk at bedtime ''poses toddler obesity risk''
09/05/2011
Parents who enable toddlers to have a bottle of milk before they get into their children's beds could be putting their health at risk, researchers have found.
Experts in the US found that regularly feeding a two-year-old with milk makes the child 30 per cent more likely to be obese by the time they are aged five-and-a-half.
The study, published in the journal Paediatrics, showed that an 8oz bottle of full-fat milk contains 150 calories, which is 12 per cent of the daily energy intake for a child aged between one and two.
Almost a quarter (22.9 per cent) of babies given a bottle were overweight by the time they became toddlers, compared to just 16 per cent among children who were not fed milk at bedtime.
Experts from Northwestern Medicine recently found that adults who stay up late eat an average of 248 more calories than those who head to bed at a more sensible time.
Posted by Michael Ewing
