Solute and calorie loading in young infants: short- and long-term effects.

The short report on page 749 'Growth and Milk Intake of Normal Infants' by Evans once again raises the question of the shortand long-term effects of different forms of milk intake in early infancy. In the early 1970s attention was drawn to the consequences of high-solute milk feeding in early life, with the focus on two particular issues. (1) Did high solute feeding and its possible associated high calorie intake lead to excessive weight gain in early infancy and did this in turn result in subsequent obesity? (2) What was the effect of high-solute intake on the incidence of hypertonic dehydration?