Prevention of Obesity Should Begin in Childhood
Prevention of obesity should begin in childhood.
What this means for parents who feed their babies with breast milk or formula stored, Li said, is that they need to pay special attention to the signals for feeding their babies.
This study included data from 1,250 babies born at term and weighed more than 5 pounds (2.3 kilos) at birth. Their mothers completed a monthly questionnaire on feeding until infants met twelve months.
When the babies were one month old, 52 percent of mothers gave them only the chest and the 41 percent formula. The rest of the babies drank milk stored breast or some other type of milk, according to the study. When the babies were six months, 27 percent of mothers gave them only the chest and the 66 percent formula.
When the babies were between six and twelve months, the researchers asked mothers how often babies emptied his cup or bottle.
The study authors found that among babies who drank exclusively breastfed during infancy, 27 percent emptied his cup or bottle in later childhood, compared with 68 percent of those taking milk formula and 54 percent of those taking both breast milk and formula in infancy.
Li said that there could be many reasons for this. For starters, he said, breastfeeding generally directs the baby, but feeding with formula directs the caregiver and could lead to overfeeding.
“The mothers or other caregivers may force the baby to empty the bottle, but if they nurse no way to see how much milk the baby takes,” said Li.
Another possibility is that the mother’s milk changes in taste between a feeding and another, and even during one feeding session, said Li. Depending on what the mother has eaten, the milk may have a different flavor. He further stressed that the fat content is much higher at the end of a feeding, and that could send a signal that the baby is almost time to stop.
Another factor could be that breastfed babies do not suck the milk all the time, said Li. The baby suckles for a few minutes before they start to release the mother’s milk, but with a bottle, that non-nutritive sucking does not occur.
Dr. Deborah Campbell, director of the division of neonatology at Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in New York City, described the research as “another study that underscores the importance of breastfeeding.”
And, “if you can not breastfeed, this study highlights the importance of learning to recognize the signs that your baby gives you respect them,” said Campbell. “When we give the bottle, often we ignore the ability of infants to regulate their intake of milk.”
But when the babies stop sucking, turn their head or stick out their tongues, he explained, is because they have eaten enough.
“Parents often worry that if a baby is not getting a full ration of milk, will wake up hungry soon after,” said Campbell. “It may happen. But you have to respect the signals baby gives,” he advised.
Li agreed. “Breastfeeding should be your first choice, if possible,” he said. “If not, be vigilant about not overfeed the baby. Pay attention to signals that gives the baby. Babies are born with the ability to regulate their intake of milk.
Ok. How would not I visualize this?