Early findings about link to obesity & formula

[BellyBelly]

Bacteria Mix in Guts of Babies Predicts Obesity

Findings may explain why breast-fed infants less likely to be overweight later
By Kathleen Doheny
Posted 3/7/08

FRIDAY, March 7 (HealthDay News) -- The mix of bacteria in a baby's gut may predict whether that infant will become overweight or obese later in life, a new study suggests.

Babies with high numbers of bifidobacteria and low numbers of Staphylococcus aureus may be protected from excess weight gain, according to a team of researchers from the University of Turku in Finland.

Their study was published in the March issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The researchers suggested their findings may help explain why breast-fed babies are at lower risk for later obesity, since bifidobacteria are prevalent in the guts of breast-fed babies.

Other studies repeatedly have found that being breast-fed is associated with a reduced risk of excess weight or obesity in childhood, with the risk lowered from 13 percent to 22 percent.

In the new study, researchers evaluated children who had been part of a long-term study to evaluate the effect of probiotics on allergic disease. Probiotics are potentially beneficial bacteria found in foods such as yogurt and in dietary supplements.

The children had been evaluated at birth, five more times before age 2, and then again at ages 4 and 7. The researchers in the original study had also tested for intestinal microbes in fecal samples collected at 6 months and 12 months.

For this latest study, the Finnish researchers selected 49 participants from the larger study -- 25 of them were overweight or obese at age 7 years, and 24 were normal weight at the same age.

When they looked at the fecal samples, the average bacterial counts of bifidobacteria when taken at 6 months and 12 months were twice as high in those who were a healthy weight as in those who got heavy.

Those who stayed at a healthy weight also had lower fecal S. aureus levels at 6 months and 12 months than did those who got heavy.

The S. aureus may trigger low-grade inflammation, the authors speculated, and that may also contribute to developing obesity.

In other research, gut bacteria in adults have been found to be altered in obese adults who lost weight. Someday, the Finnish researchers speculated, tinkering with gut flora may help prevent or treat obesity.

The latest study doesn't pinpoint exactly why intestinal bacteria are linked with the development of obesity, said Connie Diekman, director of university nutrition at Washington University in St. Louis and president of the American Dietetic Association.

"The exact role that bacteria in the intestine play in development of obesity is still the subject of much research," she said, "but the benefits of breast-feeding are clear. Breast-feeding provides not only the proper nutrition for your infant, but it provides benefits that may impact long-term health and weight issues as well."

However, she added that, "while breast-feeding may play a role in the weight of children, so many other factors influence weight that parents shouldn't ignore good role modeling of healthy food choices, proper portions and regular physical activity. Healthy weight is a combination of factors, and no single issue will be the cause of weight gain or the magic answer to weight loss."

Another expert who has studied how obesity changes microbes in the gut calls the new study unique, because it collected information over several years and could look for differences in gut microflora. "The finding, that the lean children harbored higher levels of bifidobacteria at younger ages, is very intriguing," says Ruth Ley, a research assistant professor at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Still, she says, research on the role of gut bacteria in regulating body weight is in the very early stages.

More information

To learn more about breast-feeding, visit the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Copyright ? 2008 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

I also often wonder about the role of antibiotics in labour which play havoc with babies gut too, not so much with the link to obesity but in general. Since FF babies don't get pro-biotics from mum (I know some formulas have added one strain of probiotics, but there are many strains)... all interesting how each little thing we interfere with throws out so much

[Arimeh]

Hmm.. interesting study. However, I'm the overweight one in my family, and I was breastfed the longest. Same with my DH, he is the only overweight child out of all his siblings and they were all breastfed for the same amount of time....... interesting...

[ShootingStar]

Hmm yeh interesting too.. though i was forumla fed from birth, as was my brother and sister and none of us are no where near over weight.

[BellyBelly]

I don't think it refers to obesity in adulthood in this study only childhood.

The rate of obesity in formula fed babies was not 100% so there are going to people who were FF and are not obese. It's just found (like other studies) that its more likely.

[Liz]

Well, like they said, it's not just this one thing that will cause or prevent obesity, but it is very interesting.

Kelly - I read about antibiotics in labour being a possible cause of colic. I had AB because I'd been ill and they weren't sure that's why I had gone into pre-term labour.. and DD had quite bad wind/colic. Her's may have been a combination of a premmie belly as well as the AB I suppose. Altho, it didn't rear it's ugly head until she was about 5 or 6 weeks old, so I dunno. There were no immediate probs from the AB.

The human body is a pretty finely tuned machine isn't it. I read somewhere too that we shouldn't worm our kids regularly (don't know if ppl do anyway do they??) because there are good worms that we are supposed to have in our guts. Keep everything simple and as natural as possible I say

[ShootingStar]

Oh well yeh, neither of my siblings or i were over weight as a child either.

I guess for them to put out that article, its just another thing to make us mums who cant breastfeed feel more guilty.

[BellyBelly]

If you look at it that way. No-one can create guilt but ourselves.

But if you look at it constructively, if they can isolate something specific in the good bacteria then I am sure you will see formula companies add it in or something, or it could lead to something proactive like that. So its all in the way you look at it and how you make yourself feel about it.

Have a read of this if you haven't already: Artificial Feeding - Nothing To Do With Breastfeeding

[ShootingStar]

Gee thank you for the support.

I am happy i chose to feed my son formula, as he is one happy and healthy boy today.. and to me thats all that matters.

[BellyBelly]

But if you are happy why do you feel guilty?

[Arimeh]

I think its more that formula feeders get judged for not breastfeeding, so the guilt stems from people's opinions. Even if you are happy with the decision that you have made in your child's own best interests, society can be one nasty judgemental wench, and if you don't go along with what is considered the norm, then opinions and articles can make you feel uncomfortable with it being shoved in your face.
Just my opinion of course.

[ShootingStar]

I am happy that he is healthy and i dont see how forumla feeding my son has done him any harm.
I felt guilty because i wanted to breastfeed for my own inner being, but couldnt.

I just am forever reading all these things that are pointing towards those mothers who have forumla fed have done the wrong thing. When most of the time we had no choice. I would just for once like to read something saying i did the right thing, instead of all this negative on formula. To mean it seem the word "forumla" is like curse word in language of parent hood.

I just would have thought from such a site that is ranked so high, i would have received a little of that support.

[Rouge]

Don't feel guilty hon, I am sure that wasn't Kelly's intent to make others feel guilty for their choices. Its more of providing information so that others can make an educated choice on how to feed their child.

This study (or one similar) came out shortly after I had started FF Paris and I remember how it made me feel, and then I realised I had no need to feel guilty. I did what I thought was best for both of us at the time, I learned from my experience and put that experience to good use in the future. And that is all we can do as parents. I think we need to try to stop beating ourselves up for things that we did "then" with finding they have now. And sometimes information and support isn't available to us. If I knew then what I knew now I would have done a lot of things differently, but I refuse to beat myself up for it. This is how we learn and how we grow. And to some people this study may not impact as greatly on another because for them whatever they get out of FF may mean more to them iykwim and thats ok too. Information is just that, and if that attributes to the choices you make good, and if it doesn't thats fine too but there is always going to be someone who may find the information useful and thats important I think.

And if a mother dare says she doesn't feel guilty for something she's done over the course of her childs life, or a decision she's made or an outcome of a situation she's lying her butt off LOL! I once saw something that said "Moth-er-hood def. see 'Guilt' " LOL!

[BellyBelly]

I don't think anything is being shoved in ones face. I had a drip/epidural with my daughter and I have no guilt over that. I used formula with my son for a couple of months and I have no guilt with that. I have dealt with it! I dont care if someone thinks epidurals are evil! I did what I had to at the time!

No-where in that article does it say, 'thou who feedeth their child formula is a bad mother and has done the wrong thing.'

Nor has it been suggested anywhere. And if it was I would remove it. You said that yourself, that is your impression!

See, you can make a choice, because yes the stuff is going to be everywhere because thats an important issue in which study is always being done. You can choose to continue to feel guilt/victimised or you can choose to work through your guilt and can it forever. It's up to you. People create their own guilt. They are the only people who can fix their own guilt.

Have a read of this particularly the steps where it has a little work through as to how you can overcome guilt.

https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...940-guilt.html

Is this not helping? Sorry but I am not one to beat around the bush, you could get some sympathy or empathy from people but will that actually fix the problem? You could go somewhere else or speak to someone in real life and the triggers go off again... if guilt is a real and difficult issue for you, then you can do something about it for good. Who wants to carry it around for their lifetime???

I think these studies are great to keep up, no matter what health issue they all go towards improving the health of our generation and help with progress to make things bigger and better (formula included) and I won't feel guilty for posting them, pardon the pun!

I also didn't realise you were asking for support in saying it was making you feel guilty - if you need it, please say so... there is a formula forum too so other FF'ers can support you.

[Arimeh]

Just to clear something up, when I said "being shoved in ones face" I meant articles and opinions from people as a whole, not in particular from THIS site.

[BellyBelly]

I know what you mean. See I look at things differently.... when I saw that article, I thought, 'Oh wow, that's interesting! They think it could be something as simple as pro-biotics....' and thought that the intelligent women on BB would like to hear about it too... I also thought, wow, I wonder how they will go about changing things and potentially reducing obesity with these findings....

But I guess not everyone has the same interest level and headspace that I am at, I find it all interesting I guess I think that other people will be interested too but emotions can get in the way of interest sometimes! Wouldn't it be nice if you never felt guilt again about it!

[Rouge]

PLEASE! Can we not do this again. Can we just let this be another piece of information that you can either take or leave. We all know where this is going to head, and it doesn't need to.

I see these arguments all the time and it makes me so sad, because when you get down to it most often its misunderstandings and miscommunication. Very few people think that they are better than someone else because they did things right, whatever they are, and if they do well I hope someone bumps into the pedestal they've put themselves on and knocks some reality into them.

I'm posting this as a member, not as a moderator, as a mother, and as a friend and as someone who has been on BOTH sides.

If you can't read these articles without it evoking some sort of negative emotion please don't read them, there are a few posts/articles etc that have done the same from me and I just put them on ignore so they don't tempt me. Its just not worth it, no one wants anyone to feel that way, and we don't have to! Its torture.

I say this with well intentions and no blame on any party I just think we really need to move past this debate because its just going to keep going around and around and around in circles.

Peace out.

[BellyBelly]

Sorry mum...

*Slaps hand*

[Rouge]

Don't make me come over there :P