Allergy risk and incidence

It has been shown that infants are more likely to develop allergies if there is a sibling or parent with eczema, asthma, hay fever or a diagnosed food allergy.³ It is also known that cows' milk protein allergy predominantly affects infants in the first 6 months of life – many within the first month.⁶

Key stats

• 50 per cent of children have allergies, with a substantial increase in food allergies³
• If one parent has an allergy, a child has a 20 to 40 per cent chance of developing eczema³

A recent review of the literature concluded that there is limited evidence in terms of the effect of maternal diet in pregnancy and lactation on allergic disease outcomes in offspring.⁷