A decade after a landmark study proved that feeding peanut products to young babies could prevent the development of life-threatening allergies, new research finds the change has made a big difference in the real world.

About 60,000 children have avoided developing peanut allergies after guidance first issued in 2015 upended medical practice by recommending that caregivers introduce the allergen to infants starting as early as four months.

"That's a remarkable thing, right?" said Dr. David Hill, an allergist and researcher at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and author of a study published Monday in the medical journal Pediatrics.

"I can actually come to you today and say there are less kids with food allergy today than there would have been if we hadn't implemented this public health effort," he added.

Hill and colleagues analyzed electronic health records from dozens of pediatric practices to track diagnoses of food allergies in young children before, during and after the guidelines were issued.

The researchers found that peanut allergies in children ages zero to three declined by more than 27 per cent after guidance for high-risk kids was first issued in 2015, and by more than 40 per cent after the recommendations were expanded in 2017.