Rate of food intolerance not rising, says study

Parents are far more likely to believe babies are allergic to some foods than they actually are, according to new research.

For every child who actually had a food allergy, over three more children were believed wrongly by their parents to suffer from the condition, according to researchers at the University of Portsmouth.

The rate of food hypersensitivity is not rising, the three-year study of babies born on the Isle of Wight found.

Dr Carina Venter, who studied babies born in one year on the island, found that parents were too quick to assume their child had an allergy to a specific food.

Of the 807 babies in the study, more than a third of their parents (272) said their child was allergic or intolerant to one or more foods. However, fewer than 60 babies proved to be allergic to any food by the age of three. Of these, the most common allergies were to peanuts, eggs and milk.

The main reason parents gave for thinking their child was allergic to a food was their child coming out in a rash, itching or developing hives or eczema.