Feeding babies with solid food early raises obesity risk later
12 February, Xinhua, LOS ANGELES
U.S. researchers have found that feeding babies with solid foods too
early was associated with increased odds of obesity later.
Among children who were never breast-fed -- or who stopped
breast-feeding before the age of four months, introducing solid foods
before four months of age was linked to a sixfold increase in the risk
of obesity, said a team of researchers from the Children's Hospital in
Boston and Harvard Medical School.
But the timing of solid foods didn't increase the odds of becoming
obese in youngsters who were breast-fed. The findings was published on
Monday in the online issue of Pediatrics.
In the study, the researchers analyzed data on 847 children enrolled
in Project Viva, a long-term study of women and their offspring. The
women were initially recruited before the birth of their babies, and
they were followed for at least three years. The researchers found that
67 percent of the children were breast-fed and 32 percent were
formula-fed. When the youngsters were three years old, nine percent were
considered obese.
Babies who were fed formula, and then introduced to solids foods
before they were four months old, were 6.3 times more likely to be obese
when they were three years old. "Our study results suggest that adhering
to the current American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines of waiting till
4 months to introduce solids has the potential to reduce the risk of
obesity later on," said study author Dr. Susanna Y. Huh, a pediatric
gastroenterologist at the hospital. "Mothers of infants who are
breast-fed may better understand and recognize their babies' hunger and
satiety cues. Mothers of formula-fed infants may not recognize these as
well," explained Huh.
But Huh said it needs further study to understand why the
introduction of solids before four months appeared to make such a
significant difference for the formula-fed babies.
Previous studies showed that early feeding practices were believed to
set the stage for later eating patterns and weight status later in life.
But these studies hadn't provided consistent answers as to whether or
not the timing of the introduction of solid foods could make a
difference in a child's weight later in life, the researchers said.
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