Early Feeding Habits Of Babies Linked With Childhood Obesity

May 13, 2009 by tanya
Filed under: Baby Health, News

More research has been released about how early feeding habits may be linked with childhood obesity.

Researchers at Rutgers University studied 96 low-earning mothers from minority backgrounds. The mothers were observed giving formula to their babies to predict weight gain from birth to 3 months, 3 to 6 months, and 6 to 12 months.

As well as the mothers birth weight, age, education, BMI and ethnic background, they recorded how many feeds the child had and how good the mother was at knowing her baby was full.

Finding showed that none of the factors for the first six months of age could be used to predict weight gain of the infants.

For infants between 6 and 12 months, there was evidence that the amount of feedings and how sensitive the mother was to knowing when the baby was full, did affect weight gain.

The study, which was published this month in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, read “for those mothers who may inevitably elect to use formula, modest interventions may be tried to demonstrate optimal feeding styles. For example … expectant mothers could view an educational video program that showcases infant behaviors that bear on feeding.”