OBJECTIVE: To investigate infants' energy intake and growth in a population with a high frequency of breast-feeding and high birth weight. DESIGN: The infants' consumption was recorded once a month from 1 to 12 months of age. At the ages of 2, 4, 6, 9 and 12 months all ingested food was weighed accurately to calculate nutrient intake. A control group participated at the age of 9 months. SETTING: Participants, who were born healthy, were recruited from four different maternity wards. Growth data were collected from healthcare centres and consumption data with parents' assistance from the infants' homes. SUBJECTS: Infants (n=250) were randomly selected and divided into a research group (n=180) and a control group (n=70). The research group participants numbered 138 (77%) and the control participants 57 (81%). RESULTS: Energy intake was lower than current recommendations but was similar to that found in recent studies. Growth, as a percentage of birth weight, correlated negatively with birth weight, with r=0.77 (P