Press Release
Healthy feeding of infants and young children
18 December 2013
The Department of Health (DH) has all along endeavoured to promote and educate parents about the healthy feeding of infants and young children.
The Principal Medical and Health Officer (Family Health Service) of the DH, Dr Rita Ho, said at a press briefing today (December 18) that a healthy diet in early childhood is of great importance to long-term health. Parents' feeding practices also strongly influence children's eating behaviour.
Also attending the briefing, the representative of the Hong Kong College of Paediatricians, Dr Chow Chun-bong, highlighted the optimal feeding of infants and young children recommended by the World Health Organization's Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding (2002).
He emphasised that breastmilk is the best natural food for babies, adding that the immediate and long-term health benefits of breastfeeding are well recognised. As for expectant mothers and mothers of newborn babies, due consideration should be given to exclusively breastfeeding their babies for the first six months, then with the introduction of complementary foods, to continue breastfeeding up to two years old and beyond.
Another speaker, the representative of the Hong Kong Breastfeeding Mothers' Association, Ms Sharon Tsui, encouraged expectant and new mothers to establish exclusive breastfeeding so that their babies would be healthier and they would not be dependent on formula milk. Ms Tsui also took the opportunity to share with mothers concrete tips on successful breastfeeding at different stages of pregnancy, child birth and rearing.
While the DH has all along been promoting the merits of breastfeeding, some parents still choose to feed their babies with formula milk for various reasons. A joint statement on recommendations on formula milk feeding for young children was made by the DH and nine other healthcare organisations and professional bodies earlier this year ( www.fhs.gov.hk/english/news/recommend_to_parents/joint_statement_poster.html ). At today's briefing the President of the Hong Kong Medical Association, Dr Tse Hung-hing, reinforced the key messages of these recommendations from children's nutrition and health perspectives to ease parents' worries about not being able to continue feeding their babies with a particular brand of formula milk.
The Principal Research and Trade Practices Officer of the Consumer Council, Ms Rosa Wong, said that the Council had been a staunch advocate of breastfeeding. Nevertheless, she reminded parents if for various reasons they chose to feed babies with formula milk, they were advised to give consideration to factors such as the price, type of retail outlet to buy from, and ease of purchasing the product from different channels on top of suitability of the formula milk.
To conclude, Dr Rita Ho of the DH reminded parents once again that a healthy diet with an optimal nutrient intake in early childhood laid the foundation of future eating habits and was of great importance to long-term health.
She drew parents' attention to a local survey conducted by the DH in 2010. It was found that children who drank more milk (mainly formula milk) than the recommended volume generally consumed a smaller amount of grains, vegetables and fruits. Parents' misconception about the nutritional benefits of formula milk might have contributed to the high milk intake and the choice of milk.
The DH advised parents to provide a nutritious diet with a variety of foods, and milk intake should be limited to 360 to 480 mililitres per day for those above 12 months. Children should stop using the bottle for drinking milk by 18 months to prevent dental caries. Persistent use of milk bottles is associated with excessive milk consumption and childhood obesity.
Members of the public may visit the website of the DH's Family Health Service ( www.fhs.gov.hk/english ) for more information and recommendations on formula milk for young children.
