The objective of the research, which was based on the detailed feeding history of almost 900 mothers and babies in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, was to find out whether different feeding patterns and energy intakes provided to infants, affected body weight and BMI later in childhood.
Scientists recognise that rapid infant weight gain has been shown to predict an obesity risk later on, but are uncertain which factors influence infant diet and weight gain.
At present three quarters of babies are on bottles rather than being breast fed, by the age of four months and start eating solids earlier.
With the number of children becoming obese or overweight growing, the study has wide implications.
The study, 'Children of the 90s', recruited the mothers during their pregnancies in 1991-92 and has tracked most of the children and parents in detail ever since.
The researchers believe that breast-fed babies are good at regulating their milk intake in relation to their needs.
They suggest that mothers who bottle feed may be anxious for their baby to finish the contents of the bottle but when the baby is started on solids before six months, mothers do not reduce the amount of formula they give.
It found that increased calorie intake in babies was linked to a 50 per cent raised risk of being obese at the age of three and a 25 per cent raised risk at five.
Dr Pauline Emmett, the senior nutritionist in the study, says more advice should be made available about weaning, tailored to the particular needs of formula-fed infants.
Dr Ken Ong, from the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit and Cambridge University, says there is a growing awareness that some infants may be fed excessively and develop a higher risk for overweight or obesity.
He advises parents to follow Department of Health guidelines which promote breast feeding and the introduction of weaning foods at around six months.
The study is supported by the Medical Research Council and published in the journal Pediatrics.
At the same time, a baby of normal size at birth, but who is given too much formula milk, which the mother will perceive as a good thing - i.e. that the baby is growing fast - in clinical terms it may potentially be growing too fast.
That baby may be at more risk of later disease because when you grow too rapidly one of the adaptations is you lay down too much fat. Once you have too much fat in early life that can stay with you throughout your life: you may become obese earlier with all the complications that go with that.
EARNEST is a Europe-wide project bringing together scientists from 38 research institutions across 16 countries in the fields of genetics, molecular biology, epidemiology, public health and consumer behaviour.
Professor Berthold Koletzko, of the University of Munich, is co-ordinating the six research initiatives that make up the EARNEST project.
Professor Koletzko said: Major differences in risk factors for significant health problems - such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, bone health, immune function, cognitive development and behaviour - have already been observed in children who experienced different diets in the first few months of life, or whose mothers were given different supplements during pregnancy.
These studies have not been running long enough to know whether the differences seen in childhood persist into adult life. If they do, the impact on the health of future generations is enormous.
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