Dietary – Children Consuming Too Much Cow’s Milk

Children who were part of the Melbourne Infant Feeding Activity and Nutrition Trial (InFANT) Program consumed two to three times more protein than considered age-appropriate, according to results published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Researchers followed 542 mothers and their children’s first 5 years and tracked protein intake and food sources. The primary sources of protein after 9 months of age were cow’s milk and milk products. These sources resulted in excess protein consumption by the majority of participants with respect to current Australian daily recommendations. The authors caution that such high intakes of animal protein sources, particularly cow’s milk, provide poor sources of iron and predict unhealthful body composition later in life.