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From the Journals
Supersize Baby!
 Obesity
prevention starts with breastfeeding. As more and more studies
identify the link between obesity and formula feeding, policy makers,
the media and health care providers need to make the leap from
research data to public health messages. Much emphasis is put on
increasing physical activity, and rightly so, yet it is breastfeeding
that will have the greatest lifelong preventive impact.
Formula-fed infants are fatter for a
number of reasons. It is estimated that formula fed-infants consume
about 30,000 more calories than breastfed infants by the time they are
eight months old[1]
This is equivalent to 120 chocolate bars!
Moreover breastfed babies develop taste
interests that reflect their mother’s dietary patterns and their
ability to regulate their appetite system is normal.
Miralles O, et al. A physiological role of
breastmilk leptin in body weight control in developing infants.
Obesity 8: 1371-1377, 2006
A group of 28 non-obese women who breastfed their
infants for at least six months and their infants were studied. Leptin
concentration was determined. and infant body weight and height were
followed until two years of age. During the whole lactation period,
milk leptin concentration correlated positively with maternal plasma
leptin concentration and with maternal BMI. The researchers concluded
that moderate milk-borne maternal leptin appears to provide moderate
protection to infants from an excess of weight gain and can explain,
in part, the increased risk of obesity of formula-fed infants.
Frye C, Heinrich J. Trend and predictors of
overweight and obesity in East Germen children. Int J of Obesity 27:
963-969, 2003
In order to determine factors associated with the
development of overweight and obesity, 6650 German school-aged
children between the ages five to 14 years of age were examined.
Breastfeeding was found to be protective against obesity. The
protective effect was greater when the infants were exclusively
breastfed.
Von Kries R. Breastfeeding and obesity: cross
sectional study. BMJ 319: 147-150, 1999
German researchers collected height and weight
data of 9375 school children to determine the impact of early
childhood feeding on the development of obesity. The prevalence of
obesity was found to be 4.5 per cent—nearly 40 per cent higher—in
those who had never been breastfed compared to 2.8 per cent for those
who had been exclusively breastfed.
Weyerman M et al. Duration of breastfeeding and
risk of overweight in childhood: a prospective birth cohort study from
Germany. Int J Obes advance online publication February 28, 2006
Active follow-up of 855 German mother and baby
pairs was used to determine the relationship between not breastfeeding
and increased risk of overweight and obesity. After a two-year
follow-up 8.4 per cent of children were overweight and 2.8 per cent
severely overweight: 8.9 per cent were never breastfed, while 62.3 per
cent were breastfed for at least six months.
Children who were exclusively breastfed more than
three months and less than six months had a 20 per cent reduction
risk, while those who had breastfed exclusively for at least six month
had a 60 per cent risk reduction for becoming overweight compared to
those who were formula-fed.
Armstrong, J. et al. Breastfeeding and lowering the
risk of childhood obesity. Lancet 359:2003-04, 2002
To determine the impact of infant feeding on
childhood obesity, this large Scottish study looked at body-mass index
of 32,200 children aged 39 to 42 months. After elimination of
confounding factors, socioeconomic status, birthweight and sex, the
prevalence of obesity was significantly higher in the formula-fed
children; leading to the conclusion that formula feeding is associated
with an increase in childhood obesity risk.
Mayer-Davis, E. et al. Breastfeeding and risk for
childhood obesity: does maternal diabetes or obesity status matter?
Diabetes Care 29: 2231-2237, 2006
Exclusively breastfed babies had roughly a 34 per
cent reduced risk of being overweight during childhood, compared to
children exclusively formula-fed. The US based study involved more
than 15,000 children. The results were consistent regardless of
maternal diabetes or weight status
The authors suggest that breastfeeding could help break the cycle of
overweight and diabetes among children born to mothers with diabetes.
Harder T et al. Duration of breastfeeding and risk
of overweight: a meta-analysis. Al J of Epidemiol 162: 397-403, 2005
After a comprehensive meta-analysis of the
existing studies on duration of breastfeeding and risk of overweight,
seventeen studies met the inclusion criteria. Using meta-regression,
the authors found that the duration of breastfeeding was inversely
associated with the risk of overweight. For every month of
breastfeeding there was an associated 4 per cent decrease in risk for
obesity. Babies breastfed for nine months had a 31 per cent overall
reduction in risk.
References
1. Auerbach KG, Riordan J. Student Study Guide
for Breastfeeding and Human Lactation. 1993.
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