Why countries such as China pay price in lives for baby formula dependence
Major study shows breastfed babies are smarter, healthier and live longer than those fed formula, and if every baby was breastfed world would avoid 800,000 deaths a year and save US$300 billion. Yet in Chinese cities only 16 per cent of babies are exclusively breastfed, and in Hong Kong barely 2 per cent
China bought 40 per cent of the world’s baby milk formula, a market worth US$17.78 billion, in 2014, according to a new study published in leading medical journal The Lancet. By 2019, Chinese demand will more than double and China will account for more than half of global sales that are projected to reach US$70.6 billion by then, researchers say.
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But their study – the largest and most detailed analysis yet of the levels, trends, and benefits of breastfeeding around the world – stresses that formula is no substitute for breast milk. Babies who are fed on formula milk grow up less healthy and less smart than breastfed babies, they say.
They calculate that boosting breastfeeding rates for babies under six months old to 90 per cent in China would cut treatment costs of common childhood illnesses (such as pneumonia, diarrhoea, and asthma) by at least US$223.6 million a year.
The evidence outlined ... leaves no doubt that the decision not to breastfeed has major long-term negative effects on the health, nutrition and development of children and on women's health
“There is a widespread misconception that breast milk can be replaced with artificial products without detrimental consequences,” said study author Professor Cesar Victora from the Federal University of Pelotas in Brazil. “The evidence outlined ... contributed by some of the leading experts in the field, leaves no doubt that the decision not to breastfeed has major long-term negative effects on the health, nutrition and development of children and on women's health.”
The study, published last week, was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust.
In 2014, fewer than 16 per cent of urban Chinese women exclusively breastfed their babies for the World Health Organisation’s recommended period of six months, according to data from the National Health and Family Planning Commission. In rural China, the rates were higher – around 30 per cent – but in both urban and rural areas, rates of breastfeeding continue to decline.
In Hong Kong only 2.3 per cent of mothers exclusively breastfed their baby for six months, according to a survey by the Department of Health of babies born in 2012.