Overeating learned in infancy, study suggests

In the long run, encouraging a baby to finish the last ounce in their bottle might be doing more harm than good.

Though the calories soon burn off, a bad habit remains.

Brigham Young University sociology professors Ben Gibbs and Renata Forste found that clinical obesity at 24 months of age strongly traces back to infant feeding.

"If you are overweight at age two, it puts you on a trajectory where you are likely to be overweight into middle childhood and adolescence and as an adult," said Forste. "That's a big concern."

The BYU researchers analyzed data from more than 8,000 families and found that babies predominantly fed formula were 2.5 times more likely to become obese toddlers than babies who were breastfed for the first six months.

But, the study authors argue, this pattern is not just about breastfeeding.

"There seems to be this cluster of infant feeding patterns that promote childhood obesity," said Gibbs, lead author of the study that appears in Pediatric Obesity.

Q. My baby is a little over ten months old. She has a very healthy appetite, and will try anything you feed her. However, she weighs 26 pounds - almost two stone! I'm wondering if we could possibly be overfeeding her, and if we are, how can we tell? Also, how much should a baby her age eat at one meal?

A. While it's wonderful that your baby isn't a picky eater, you are still wise to be concerned about the possibility of overfeeding. The current epidemic of childhood obesity has prompted paediatricians to take a closer look at early infant feeding practices. At 26 pounds, your baby is at the top of the growth chart for weight, so it's natural to be concerned. Here's what you can do to ensure your baby gets proper nutrition, without overfeeding her.

Putting babies to bed with a bottle increased the risk of childhood obesity by 36 percent. And introducing solid foods too soon – before four months of age – increased a child's risk of obesity by 40 percent.

"Developing this pattern of needing to eat before you go to sleep, those kinds of things discourage children from monitoring their own eating patterns so they can self-regulate," Forste said.

Forste said that the nature of breastfeeding lends itself to helping babies recognize when they feel full and should stop. But that same kind of skill can be developed by formula-fed infants.

"You can still do things even if you are bottle feeding to help your child learn to regulate their eating practices and develop healthy patterns," Forste said. "When a child is full and pushes away, stop! Don't encourage them to finish the whole bottle."

Breastfeeding rates are lowest in poor and less educated families. Sally Findley, a public health professor at Columbia University, says the new BYU study shows that infant feeding practices are the primary reason that childhood obesity hits hardest below the poverty line.