You Can Help Protect Your Child From Obesity Through Breastfeeding
Obesity — which arises from excess fat storage in the body — is a clinical challenge that affects the health of children and adults and is still not fully resolved today. In many developed countries, childhood overweight and obesity have reached epidemic levels, and obesity-related conditions are now seen in children too. In assessing an obese child, weight alone isn't enough; it should be evaluated together with height. Obesity, defined as an excess of fat tissue, shouldn't be confused with simply being heavy — tall children or those with a lot of muscle can weigh more than their peers without being obese.
Research has helped us understand the causes of overweight and obesity, and in these studies breast milk plays a part. The short-term benefits of breast milk are unquestionable, and globally it's the safest, most economical and most suitable way to raise the quality of infant health and nutrition. Data from systematic studies support the idea that breast milk has a protective effect against obesity that may develop later in children, and a longer breastfeeding duration has been shown to have a greater protective effect. Although the size of this effect is modest (a reduction in obesity risk of up to about 20%), it's quite significant for public health.
In another study exploring breast milk's effects on childhood obesity, researchers examined the relationship between the leptin and adiponectin in breast milk and obesity. Considering adiponectin (released from fat cells) and leptin (a hormone that regulates appetite and helps the body use the energy from food), they investigated whether breast milk might influence obesity risk in children, noting that the foetus and placenta produce both proteins at high levels and may play a role in foetal development. Both protein levels were measured in the breast milk of 674 six-week-old children; among children breastfed for at least 6 months, higher adiponectin levels in breast milk showed a relationship with obesity risk, while no relationship was found between overweight and leptin levels.
From this study, researchers concluded that breastfeeding has protective effects against obesity that may develop in childhood, and that obesity may be linked to lower levels of adiponectin in breast milk. Other studies examining the factors linked to breast milk and obesity concluded that the strongest predictor of childhood obesity is the mother's concurrent weight. Studies also show that maternal adiposity can hinder the successful initiation and maintenance of breastfeeding. Other significant factors include the child's sex and birth weight, the mother's age, education, pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), weight gain during pregnancy, post-birth smoking, dietary factors, physical activity and, finally, socioeconomic status.
Breastfeeding can also quickly become part of a family's lifestyle and contribute to the baby being fed more healthily. It's widely known that a mother's diet affects the flavour of breast milk, and that experiencing several tastes during breastfeeding makes it easier for children to accept varied and new foods later on.
The protective effects of breast milk against obesity are supported by many biologically plausible epidemiological studies, though the literature is still under discussion. With its many beneficial effects, absence of harm and low cost, breast milk may be a new and effective tool in helping reduce the striking rise in obesity prevalence — and its protective effects against obesity, and the potential mechanisms behind them, continue to be clarified by research.