What Do You Mean Breastfeeding Isn’t a Cure-all?
One of the reasons I breastfeed my kids long term (i.e. more than six months) is that I believed it protected them from obesity in later life. While baby girl is as chunky and carries it very attractively, I was worried about her weight. At her last check up she weighed even more than her brother did at the same age and he was, by all accounts, a monster baby.
While I still believe the baby will slim down once she starts crawling and walking, the fact that I breastfeed exclusively for the first six months and as a supplement afterward, doesn’t give me any additional insurance against her having weight-related health issues in the future.
According to a rash of recently released studies reported in Maclean’s Magazine, breastfed children are no less likely to suffer from childhood obesity than formula fed babies.
What matters more? Giving children a good example to follow in terms of an active family life and healthy diet. These qualities, among other benefits, prevent rapid weight gain between the ages of 2 and 4, a key period in establishing healthy habits.
The study experts are quick to point out that breastfeeding is still important in terms of “protecting children from infection and establishing a bond between mother and infant.”
I guess breastfeeding is not a panacea for all the dangers life can throw in our paths. If it was, most mothers I know would never wean their children. Then again, that would ensure that noone ever put off a visit to grandma’s house….
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POSTED IN: Baby Care, Breastfeeding
5 opinions for What Do You Mean Breastfeeding Isn’t a Cure-all?
Jill (far_gone)
May 17, 2006 at 4:55 am
My daughter was a chunk, with delectable rolls on her thighs. Sadly I still have those rolls at 40! She’s got my physiognomy, the good and the bad. We’re really trying to cultivate a love of being physically active. I give my husband a lot of credit for teaching her to bike, blade and now ice skate. She has a confidence in her body that I never have had. I am hoping that will keep the weight gremlins at bay.
kbaggott
May 17, 2006 at 5:54 am
I think school gym classes rob a lot of kids of the pleasures of movement. I think it’s great that parents can inspire the love of being active in their children. Because, it really is fun.
twocatmommy
May 17, 2006 at 5:03 pm
I don’t think these studies are the last word on this topic at all. First of all, it looks at children ages 4 or 5 and does not go out to the pre-teen and teen years (as previous studies did).
And take for instance this 2006 study that concluded that children breastfed for at least three months by overweight mothers with gestational diabetes had a 40% less chance of being obese by age 8. The longer the child was breastfed the less likely the chance of being obese.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=42492
This 2006 study examined breastfeeding and the risk of obesity in adolescents, using samples within of siblings to rule out unmeasured sociocultural factors - the resulting odds ratio of .95 was similar to previous studies (basically, a child who was breastfed longer than her sibling had a lower risk of being obese as an adolescent):
http://www.epidem.com/pt/re/epidemiology/abstract.00001648-200601000-00020.htm;jsessionid=GrpGbGcgWmFq5wsnshj6JSSTsGkJZbhh8LTMBR3KCMczyKnyCt1L!-1132766741!-949856145!8091!-1
kbaggott
May 18, 2006 at 12:05 am
There is never a last word on any topic, ever. The interesting thing about these studies is that they are long term and based on very large study populations.
And, they are being released at the same time as studies that show kids don’t lose “baby fat.”
While encouraging breastfeeding by extolling its benefits is important, nothing can be oversold. Breastfeeding my son for two years did not make him immune to McDonald’s marketing. I would be naive to think that I can be less vigilant about ensuring he eats a healthy diet and enough active time because I invested so much time and energy in breastfeeding.
Babylune » Great Discussion
May 18, 2006 at 4:57 am
[…] There is some great feedback to yesterday’s post including some more references that call into question the studies I linked to. […]
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