More on Growing

In response to some of the comments from the last blog entry and just in general from a public health standpoint, I think the concept of "normal weight gain" for infants is very interesting, especially when we are living in a country where over 50% of adults are overweight. I'm not particularly concerned as to whether or not Stephen is of 'normal weight' for his age, but merely as a concept for public health interventions.

Studies have shown that breastfeeding may lead to less obesity in later stages of childhood and beyond (Owen CG, Martin RM, Whincup PH, Smith GD, Cook DG. Effect of Infant Feeding on the risk of obesity across the life course: a quantitative review of published evidence. Pediatrics. May 2005, Vol 115 (5): 1367–1377). Even though the U.S. Surgeon General recommends nursing for at least 6 months exclusively, the rate of breastfeeding exclusively at 6 months as of 2003 was only 14%, partially because of maternity leave (mothers who return to work full time are less likely to nurse exclusively).

I wondered if these charts were considering that the majority of US children are not exclusively breastfed and found this on the CDC website for frequently asked questions:

The 2000 CDC growth charts can be used to assess the growth of exclusively breast-fed infants, however when interpreting the growth pattern one must take into account that mode of infant feeding can influence infant growth. In general, exclusively breast-fed infants tend to gain weight more rapidly in the first 2 to 3 months. From 6 to 12 months breast-fed infants tend to weigh less than formula-fed infants.

The 2000 CDC Growth Chart reference population includes data for both formula-fed and breast-fed infants, proportional to the distribution of breast- and formula-fed infants in the population. During the past two decades, approximately one-half of all infants in the United States received some breast milk and approximately one-third were breast-fed for 3 months or more. A Working Group of the World Health Organization is collecting data at seven international study centers to develop a new set of international growth charts for infants and preschoolers through age 5 years. These charts will be based on the growth of exclusively or predominantly breast-fed children.

Perhaps the growth charts when Sean and I were children did not take into account exclusively breastfed children. Now, the CDC recommends that breastfeeding promotion be a part of obesity prevention campaigns. Apparently, public health and science are catching up to common sense (breast fed and formula fed babies gain weight differently)