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Original poster

How to avoid obesity in children......

46 replies

EnlightenedFlum · 26/01/2005 16:49

.... Check this out.

My dad was chatting with his Doctor recently who had recently been on a course about tackling childhood obesity.

The Doctor said the one easiest way to avoid childhood obesity was to maintain a 'slim' baby. ie not too chunky. And he said the easiest way to do that was to never give formula milk in the first six months because it is higher in fat than human milk and makes fat cells in babies which causes them to become over weight as children. Possibly obese.

So can we do a quick survey....

Anyone formula fed their babies before six months? And have any of them become fat children.

It really surprised me as I would think a recommendation like that would have come to light sooner, since formula has been around for years.

OP posts:

dinosaur · 26/01/2005 16:52

Well I always thought that the adivice was that bf babies were less likely to become overweight than formula fed basbies. But my DS2 was the exception who proves the rule - shot up to ninety something centile and stayed there - at the age of three and a half, weighs nearly three stone!

Sponge · 26/01/2005 16:53

Formula fed dd almost from the word go as she would not b/f. She's skinny as a rake.

Sponge · 26/01/2005 16:54

True Dino. I have a friend with a purely b/f baby which is the most enormous child I've ever seen in my life.

bundle · 26/01/2005 16:58

i have one quite chunky, the other much more delicate, both breastfed for 5 or 6 months exclusively. dd1 on the 75th centile most of the time, dd2 mostly 50th (though have hardly got her weighed tbh)

Original poster

EnlightenedFlum · 26/01/2005 17:01

Just done a little office survey. Asked people if they were breast or bottle fed.

3 of 4 of the chubbies were bottle fed.

but lots of the slimmies were bottle fed too.

Most people didn't know!!

OP posts:

Merlin · 26/01/2005 17:02

Bottlefed DS from 1 mth and he is a right skinnyribs!! (4 yrs)

sozie · 26/01/2005 17:14

I was a bottle fed baby and a chunky toddler. My mum said our gp told her not to overfeed me as he was concerned I would be overweight. Also having a skinny sibling didn't help. My mum said I wasn't greedy but was just chubby. I was an average sized school girl and a skinny teenager/adult until my mid 30's. I now am size 12 and 5'6. My dd seems to be following this pattern but she was bf to 6 months.

soapbox · 26/01/2005 17:21

this article seems to suggest that being overweight yourself is a big indicator!

hercules · 26/01/2005 17:26

I am overweight and was bottlefed. My sister though was bottlefed and is thin.
Ds had one or two bottles of formula before this age and is just right although veers to slightly over if not careful. DD had no formula before 6 months and is quite petite.

miam · 26/01/2005 17:31

My four were bottlefed and all are very slim (the Stirling meetup group can confirm this..). I was breastfed and vary from relatively slim (a.t.m.) to not so slim....

suedonim · 26/01/2005 19:02

One of mine was FF, the other three were BF. They are all slim, with BF ds2 being extremely thin. He's 6ft4in and about 10st!! I was FF and was an enormous baby, 9.9lb at birth but as an adult, I'm 5ft6 and size 12.

bubble99 · 26/01/2005 19:07

DS1 - Breast - Skinny malinky longlegs

DS2 - Breast - Chubster

Both have completely different builds though.

milge · 26/01/2005 19:08

How do you work out if your child is obese? is it anything over the 50th centile? or is it BMI like in adults? Sorry if i'm being thick.. but have always wondered this

Tinker · 26/01/2005 19:17

Mine was Bf for 3 months then FF so half and half - she's a tall slim one. I was BF for 6 months - slimmish, don't diet.

Friend FF both of hers - both overweight I'd say. Other friend and her siblings were all FF - all really skinny.

charliecat · 26/01/2005 19:18

Bottlefed dd1 --skinny as a rake Breastfed dd2 skinny as a rake...

dinny · 26/01/2005 20:51

How did they find this out EF? Track bottle and breast fed babies from birth to adult?

My dd formula fed from 6 weeks and always been between 91st-98th centile, ds is 20 weeks, breastfed and is on 98th centile. I reckon it's all down to your genes. Think you just have to look at the parents to see (probably) how the child will be. Me and dh chunky children and slim adults. btw, is 91-98 centile overweight?

Original poster

EnlightenedFlum · 27/01/2005 10:42

Not sure how they found out. Tracking I guess.

Strangely the same thing is mentioned in the Mumsnet Newsletter which popped into my inbox this morning.

From what I've seen here though there doesn't seem to be much in it.

OP posts:

vict17 · 27/01/2005 11:08

All 3 of my siblings were bottle fed from birth. 2 of us struggle to keep the weight down, other 2 are thin. So must be a pile of rot Personnally I dont think it matters what milk you have as a baby as long as you eat healthily and exercise.

Bozza · 27/01/2005 11:19

I do think that formula fed babies tend to put on weight more quickly than breast fed. both my two were born big, but then dropped down to between 25 & 50 %iles while being breast fed, until given solids at which point they became chubby babies. DS is now 3.11 and has finally become skinny again (seemed to take him longer to loose his baby fat than some of his peers). I am slim (but have to lead healthy lifestyle to maintain this but think would probably still be slimmish). DH quite skinny without any effort - more the sort that would struggle to put on weight. All DH's family on the thin side. All my family on the heavy side.

Interested that if this was scientifically proved whether it would have an effect on breast feeding rates. Still think that its odd that the ideal in our culture is for skinny adults but chubby babies.

sandyballs · 27/01/2005 11:39

My two were both bottle fed from the start and there's hardly any fat on the pair of them.

Gobbledigook · 27/01/2005 11:43

Well I was formula fed in the 1970s and I'm 5'6" and a size 10. Nope, I'm not fat at all, even after 3 babies, youngest 5 months (not wanting to be boastful but just illustrating a point!)

DS1 is almost 4, he was bottle fed (after 3 weeks of breast feeding) and he's extremely slim - he's wearing a belt on it's smallest setting round trousers that are age 2 or age 2-3.

DS2 is 2, bottle fed from birth and is also slim - in 12-18, 18-24 month trousers.

My brothers were also bottle fed and are also slim (not skinny but not fat by any stretch of the imagination).

Not that this 'proves' anything I know.

I think there are other factors that have much a greater influence on whether you are overweight/obese or not - diet, amount of exercise, genetics...

Gobbledigook · 27/01/2005 11:44

Like Sponge and Dinosaur - my friend's ds1 is also almost 4 and is 'massive' - since about 2.5 people have been asking his mother what school he goes to

Gobbledigook · 27/01/2005 11:44

Sorry, meant to say he was breast fed!

Gobbledigook · 27/01/2005 11:47

Bozza - but ds1 was born 8.4 and FF and dropped to 9th centile pretty quickly and has stayed there. It's just his build and I'm sure it would have been the same whether he was BF or FF tbh.

Joolstoo · 27/01/2005 11:52

How to avoid obesity in children...... (or anyone else for that matter!)

exercise, a sensible, balanced diet and don't overdo to the treats

doesn't everyone know that by now?

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