The first real-world measurement of the impact of the LEAP Study and early introduction guidelines finds a significant 43% reduction in peanut allergy 

📣 Listen up, parents and lil’ peanuts…brand new research is hot off the press! 📣 

A new study published today in the Journal of American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) shows a significant and measurable reduction in peanut allergy since the publication of the landmark 2015 LEAP Study and subsequent 2017 NIAID Addendum Guidelines for the Prevention of Peanut Allergy, which recommended early and regular peanut exposure, starting in infancy. 

This is BIG news because it’s the first measurement of the impact of early and often peanut consumption in a real-world setting, and it offers encouraging and powerful data on the potential for peanut allergy prevention on a larger population level.

A research team at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia analyzed about 120,000 electronic medical records and found that peanut allergies in children ages 0 to 3 declined by more than 27% after the LEAP Study and subsequent guidance for high-risk kids was published in 2015 and by more than 40% when those guidelines were expanded to all kids in 2017. That equates to nearly 200,000 children (and counting!) who have likely avoided peanut allergies, if you count the reduction over the entire 10-year time frame between 2015 and 2025. This is our mission at work!

Our co-founder Dr. Gideon Lack, world-renowned LEAP Study (2015) author and food allergy prevention pioneer, led the groundbreaking research that changed feeding guidelines around the globe to recommend early and regular consumption of allergens, especially peanuts, once babies start solid foods. Dr. Lack and his team’s groundbreaking findings that early and regular peanut consumption could prevent more than 80% of peanut allergies, laid the groundwork for this latest remarkable and observable decline in peanut allergies in kids in the U.S.  

Key takeaways from the study:

• 👶 First real-world measurement of LEAP Study’s impact:  Using electronic medical records of about 120,000 children in the American Academy of Pediatrics Collaborative Electronic Reporting database, the study measured the rate of peanut allergy and overall food allergy during two time periods: 

• 1) The 2 years after the publication of the 2015 LEAP Study and resulting 2015 interim guidelines (2015 - 2017) 

• 2) The 2 years following the publication of the expanded 2017 NIAID Addendum Guidelines for the Prevention of Peanut Allergy (2017 - 2019).

• ⬇️ Initial decrease in peanut allergies: The study’s findings were statistically significant, showing an impressive 27% reduction in peanut allergy in the 2 years after the publication of the 2015 LEAP Study.

• 📉 More momentum, continued decline: There was an even greater 43% reduction in the rate of peanut allergy in infants born after the expanded 2017 NIAID Addendum Guidelines for the Prevention of Peanut Allergy, when compared with the rate of peanut allergy prior to the publication of the 2015 LEAP Study. 

• 🥛 Food allergy rates as a whole declined: Interestingly, while the LEAP Study and resulting guidelines only focused on peanut, there was a decrease in food allergies as a whole, which may indicate a spillover effect resulting in parents introducing other allergenic foods earlier.

• 🥜 Early introduction works: Efforts to prevent peanut allergy at the population level are working in the United States.  

• 🤯Hundreds of thousands of kids have likely avoided peanut allergies: Nearly 200,000 kids have likely been spared from the burden of peanut allergies in the last decade, thanks to Dr. Lack’s discovery. 

This latest study adds to the growing body of evidence in support of early allergen introduction. With more awareness and widespread adoption of the latest early + often guidelines, we can get closer to our goal of ending the food allergy epidemic and relieving future generations from a lifelong burden. 

In the News: Check out some of the top headlines!

• CNN: Advice to feed babies peanuts early and often helped 60,000 kids avoid allergies, study finds

• AP: New study shows 60,000 kids have been spared peanut allergies by feeding them peanuts as babies

• NYT: Peanut Allergies Have Plummeted in Children, Study Shows

• CBS: Some 60,000 kids have avoided peanut allergies due to landmark 2015 advice, study finds

So how do I safely follow the guidelines? 

Now, parents might be asking *how* exactly they can follow the early introduction guidelines safely. (After all, nuts and nut butters can be a choking hazard and let’s be real – babies and toddlers can be picky eaters, which can be a huge hurdle when the consistent, ongoing exposure and amount of nut protein matters for prevention). Early introduction can be challenging – and our co-founders thought so, too! 

Catherine and J.J. Jaxon teamed up with Dr. Lack to solve that pain point. The Jaxons oldest daughter developed an allergy to most nuts after they followed the old, and now rescinded guidelines, to avoid them in infancy. When their third child was born, they created Mission MightyMe, to help him and other families avoid the burden of food allergies. 

Mission MightyMe Nutty Puffs are the ultimate parent hack for convenience and peace of mind: a line of nutritious foods designed for babies and kids that make it simple and safe to include nuts in the diet early and often. Since launching in 2020, we’ve empowered parents to follow the latest pediatric feeding recommendations with the first and only pediatrician-developed nut butter puffs made with peanuts and multiple tree nuts in quantities that match the research, dissolve quickly for babies and taste delicious for big kids, too.  

We hope you’ll share this important info with your fellow parents and join us on our mission to end the food allergy epidemic  (and make snack time easy and enjoyable for all!).