It is surprising to know that babies, aged as young as four weeks, are given biscuits, cakes and ice creams to eat.

And when they reach nine months, many are fed with takeaways that are too high on fat content, which therefore puts their health at stake.

The Australian research has amazed experts, since it showed that a lot of babies are fed with unhealthy food items, which should be avoided, and at least should not be given before six months of the babies having weaned off breastfeeding.

The finding by researchers informed that 21% babies were being fed with cakes and cookies at six months, which is the minimum weaning age for babies, whereas 23% were given juice that is considered to be bad for babies due to consisting high concentration of sugar.

By the age of nine months, almost 78.5% of the babies were fed with biscuits and cookies, 58.5% with chips, 51% were fed ice-creams and 18% with soft drinks and other takeaway foods.

The study is going to be published in this month’s journal of the Dieticians Association of Australia, Nutrition and Dietetics.

It was saddening rather than surprising for Louise Baur, who is a Professor of Pediatrics at The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, to learn about the findings of the study.