ZT:

Professor Alan Lucas, a child nutrition expert at the Institute of Child Health, University College London, said: "The growth of breast fed babies is more ideal than the growth of babies fed on formula - it is better for babies to grow more slowly.

"In the past everybody thought it was best to have big bonny babies, but interestingly, just about ever other animal species shows disadvantages in terms of long-term health if the infants grow too fast."

His research has shown that babies who grow quickly show signs of higher blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and higher cholesterol levels in later life.