i heard there could be a link to formula feeding and obesity and diabetes in children. is there any studies to prove this? also is giving babies food to soon related to these things?
can junk food really be the number one cause of these problems? my mom said when she was little her mother cooked with tons of butter and lard and all kinds of bad things and her generation doesnt have such an obesity epidemic. she said they did play outside more then kids now a days.
any way my question is does formula and introducing solids (expecially rice cereal) too soon contribute to all the child health problems? i aprreciate your opinions and if you have any links to websites that will be very helpful thanks Here are a few studies:
Study links obesity to protein in infant formula
http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/news/ng...
Formula-fed babies are more at risk for obesity in later life
A study of 32200 Scottish 3 year old children found that the incidence of obesity was significantly lower among those who had been breastfed, after adjusting for socioeconomic status, birthweight and gender. Another study, this one of Czech children, found that the even older children (6 -14) who had been breastfed were less at risk for overweight/obesity. Additionally, a German study found that 4.5% of formula fed children are obese, while only 0.8% of breastfed children have this condition
Armstrong, J et al, "Breastfeeding and lowering the risk of childhood obesity." Lancet 2002, 349: 2003-4
Toschke, A.M. et al, "Overweight and obesity in 6 to 14-year-old Czech children in 1991: protective effect of breast-feeding", J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2002 Dec; 141(6):764-9
von Kries, R et al, "Breastfeeding and obesity: cross sectional study." BMJ 1999; 319:147-150 (July 17)
"There are critical periods of development for excessive
weight gain. Extent and duration of breastfeeding
have been found to be inversely associated
with risk of obesity in later childhood, possibly mediated
by physiologic factors in human milk as well
as by the feeding and parenting patterns associated
with nursing.55鈥?8"
American Academy of Pediatrics (link is a PDF)
"Prevention of Pediatric Overweight and Obesity [Policy Statement]"
http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi...
Newborn's first week may be critical period for developing obesity in adulthood
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles...
This study tracked formula-fed infants and found that they gained too much in their first few weeks as a newborn (contrast that to breastfed babies who most often lose weight) those first weeks on formula had life long risks for obesity.
Rice Cereal:
"Babies are born with a wonderful mechanism for knowing how much food they need. During the early months, they take their cues from the volume of what they drink. Adding cereal [to bottles] derails this mechanism. It forces them to take in deceptively large amounts of calories. It teaches them to overeat...A major study looking for the causes of obesity found that short-circuiting young children鈥檚 self-regulation of how much they eat is a major cause of later obesity. Cereal in the bottle does just that."
http://www.drgreene.com/21_861.html yes here is a linkhttp://promom.org/101/
another thing to add- amerrica has one of the highest obesity rates and we are also one of the higest formula users
i personally breastfeed because thats what i am suppose to do i think it's' the start of it all....formula and rice cereals are symptoms of americas health issues Research shows that breastfed babies are less likely to be obese because they determine when they have had enough to eat, unlike formula fed babies who are given a set amount of food, sometimes more than they really need. I agree that our parents and grandparents didn't have all the computers and technology like we do so they would play outside. After dinner instead of heading onto myspace.com or playing video games, they would go back outside and play.
A lot of people also say that breastfed babies are smarter than formula fed babies. I personally was formula fed because I was adopted, but I graduated from highschool with a 3.5 GPA, got a full scholarship to a college in my states, and am now majoring in Pharmacy. I have a 5 month old and I breast fed up until he turned 4 months because he was having latching problems and I pumped the whole time, and my breasts were getting toooo sore. It was a personal decision.
Obesity also comes from children watching what their parents eat, not only from breastmilk or formula. I mean if a child see's their parents eating KFC, McDonalds, etc then of course they are going to want it over veggies, fruits and other stuff that their parents should be giving them. Also, the US gets caught up in "super-sizing" their foods for a quarter more. That's why they make it a quarter more, because people think, "What the heck, a quarter more for 3 times the food!"
I don't really feel sorry for adults who are obese because whether you want to believe it, you control what goes in your mouth. I do feel sorry when I see overweight kids with overweight parents because the kids can't help it. What would a child rather have? A chocolate candy bar or baby carrots? My 6 month old son weighs 23 lbs and is exclusively breastfed. Pediatrician says that he personally was given whole milk at 4 months and weighed 34 lbs at one year. Now he is a strong healthy, trim, Marathon running 52 yr old. He says it's about a life time of good habits not what they are fed the first year of their life.
Good luck and God bless!! My answer really relates more to your second paragraph. I think that lifestyle changes are really the number one cause. They could eat butter and lard without becoming overweight because they got a lot more physical activity than we do now. They fried in that, we spray something out of a can and think it's healthier.
They're now saying that the hydrogenated oils are worse than the natural fats like butter. I personally feel that our food supply has become so fake that it's bad for overall health. People don't feel well. Not only formula, but everything from grains stripped of all the healthy stuff, to sugar and fat substitutes. Another thing I've considered is: What about the growth hormones that we all consume in the meat and dairy products we eat? To me, it doesn't take a huge leap to put the two together.
I have not heard about a link between obesity and formula or solids. I don't doubt that it could be a contributing factor, but I think it's a combination of things. from my own experience - my 15-year-old son was formula fed and had rice cereal way too early and he's about as skinny as they come....
however - he's VERY active... lacrosse, track, and any other sport that he has time for.
i don't think that there is one thing to 'blame' for obesity other than not instilling good eating habits and healthy exercise habits in our kids.
can't blame junk food or formula or mom's cooking - we're all responsible for our own actions. well you hear all kinds of things about all kinds of things but in the real world i dont think they hold up....
I have 4 girls and they were all formula fed and all ate the rice cereal,etc....and they are all thin.None of them are over weight in the least....
So I wouldnt worry about it...
now when they get bigger I wouldnt be one of those moms that allow their kids to eat a whole pack of hotdogs at one meal and then wonder why my child is obese....
thats a totally different story.......
and thats also not to say that since a child is obese,they must be doing that either.....I'm just talking about the ones that do eat that much and then parents are like,I dont know why he/she is obese....
Also the main thing to keep a child from becoming over weigh or obese is to keep them active...thats probably more important than what they eat....
And this doesnt have to be boring exercise....
It can be sports,dancing,child hood games like duck,duck goose,tag,roller skating,etc.... Probably both the formula/spoonfeeding early AND lifestyle/habits.
If your baby is bottle-fed, they are more likely to be encouraged to "finish the bottle". Same with spoon-feeding ("just one more bite, honey"). They learn to ignore their own hunger (or non-hunger cues). If that carries on later into life (with a "clean your plate" mentality), it can lead to obesity.
Secondly, formula and baby cereal and baby purees are pretty darn processed. Some of the stage ones aren't so processed, but, if you look at a stage two, there's all sorts of fillers and what not. Babies get used to eating processed foods and balk at the "natural" ones.
Add that to the tv, video games, computer, cars that weren't commonly available 60 years ago (or non-existent), and, yeah, there's a big difference in activity.
I'm sure it can probably be reversed later in life through diligence on the part of the parents, but, it can be very hard...I don't know how many parents I hear say, "All my 4 year old will eat is chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, and apple juice" or some version thereof. I think once those habits are in, they're very hard to break. |
