Infant Feeding – a Practical Approach
How to Feed a Baby to Avoid Accelerated Growth and Future Diseases
In a previous article it was claimed, based on several experiments and observations, that accelerated infant growth can lead to obesity and CVD. Attention should be drawn to the feeding habits of the baby in order to keep his or her normal development on one hand and avoid centile crossing on the other hand. Preferring breastfeeding, avoiding supplementary formula to normally developing babies and a balanced nutrition after weaning are beneficial for that goal.
Monitoring the Baby's Growth
Since labor, the infant's weight and length/height are continuously monitored and compared to the normal parameters of infants in the same age. The growth rate of the baby is thus compared to the expected growth rate learned from the entire population. Accelerated growth is considered a jump of two centile in these growth charts.
It turns out that a baby that follows the expected growth rate is actually fast growing since the charts are based on the entire population which is predominantly formula fed and fast growing. The World Health Organization has recently published growth charts based on mostly breastfed infants from several races. Comparing a baby's development to the new WHO charts will help keep babies' weight balanced.
Exclusive Breastfeeding is Preferred over Bottle-feeding
It has been shown that breastfeeding can prevent obesity in children. Breastfed babies grow slower than formula-fed ones due to the nutritional values of the food and probably for the fact that breastfed babies can control the amount of milk they consume and learn to self regulate their intake. The slow growth sets breastfeeding as the first priority, however, accelerated growth is not limited to bottle-fed babies.
Breastfeeding should be done in a controlled way. Aggressive breastfeeding is associated with increased body mass later in life and should be avoided. Providing formula to a normally developing baby as a supplement should also be avoided. Healthcare professionals ought to encourage breastfeeding by providing information and helping mothers with difficulties.
Weaning Timing and Style are Essential for Proper Growth
At some point, the mother's milk can't support the baby's nutritional needs. Some nutritional deficiencies especially iron and zinc deficiencies can be caused when delaying in introducing solid food. A too early weaning on the other hand can lead to overweight; it was shown that weaning before the age of 15 weeks is associated with increased body mass and greater percentage fat at the age of 7. The most appropriate weaning time is not agreed by all; the World Health Organization recommends weaning at the age of 6 months. Lately, however, the recommended age was reduced from 6 to 4 months in Israel of an instance.
The solid food consumed at early age can help avoid obesity and CVD later in life. A balanced diet should be consumed by toddlers and one rich in proteins and saturated fats should be avoided.
Monitoring a baby's growth rate and keeping him or her in the right centile can help prevent future obesity and CVD. The food sources and their nutritional values should be tightly supervised especially during the first months and years of life. A balanced diet and correct eating habits are important from the first days of life.
More information and references to the researches brought in this article can be found in the review: "Early nutrition and long-term health: a practical approach".
Infant Feeding can Prevent Obesity and CVD
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WHO Appropriate Growth Rate Propogation
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