Myth or Misinformation?
by Kate Kahn - 22nd October 2007
I read an article recently that went completely against the grain of common logic. At least to my mind. It was written by Dr. Stephen Ponder who is the director of the Children's Diabetes and Endocrine Center of South Texas at Driscoll Children's Hospital. He was talking about how breastfeeding prevents risk of obesity among children as they mature.
In his article, Dr. Ponder maintains “that research suggests nursing allows the child to develop and refine internal cues that help the infant better regulate his own food intake. Breastfeeding puts the infant in control of how much is eaten. Conversely, formula feeding puts the parent in control. When control of eating is taken away from the baby, a natural process of appetite control is altered. Not wanting to waste expensive formula, parents often encourage the baby to finish his bottle. The result: We are overfeeding infants by almost 200 calories a day by the end of the first year of life. No wonder we are seeing an epidemic of overweight and obese toddlers.”
Are you kidding me? I do understand what he’s saying, but as a mother who pumped at work so my first child could have breast milk after I came off of maternity leave, I can tell you this: If anything, I was a lot more inclined to make my baby finish a bottle of precious breast milk than any bottle of formula. It wasn’t easy pumping at work so my baby could continue to have breast milk. I had a tiny office (maybe 5 ft by 5ft) and little privacy. I’m sure my colleagues could hear the squeaking of the breast pump machine through my hollow but closed door. It took a tremendous amount of effort for me to eke out a few ounces. So if you think for a moment I was going to toss any leftovers, you can think again!
The reality is that there are several factors that contribute to childhood obesity including genetics and environmental influences. And, for as many studies as there are that conclude formula-fed infants are more likely to be obese than their breastfed counterparts, there are as many that have found that not to be true, or at best, that the evidence is inconclusive.
To be fair, Dr. Ponder is not saying that formula is the only contributing factor to childhood obesity. But given the evidence, or lack thereof, linking infant feeding choices to obesity, I think it does an injustice to mothers everywhere to add public pressure to what should be a personal choice.
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