Breast Milk And Formula On Obesity Essays

Breast Milk And Formula On Obesity Essays Breast Milk And Formula On Obesity Paper Breast Milk And Formula On Obesity Paper Essay Topic: East Of Eden Childhood obesity is a health issue that is of significant concern throughout the United States and the rest of the world. Homer and Simpson (2007) cite childhood obesity as probably the most urgent aspect of healthcare that needs to be addressed in the U.S. population in both the short and long run and believe that failure to address the issue urgently will further threaten the health and wellbeing of citizens. Considerable attention has been paid to this health issue on the part of policy makers at both the state and federal levels. However despite all this attention there appears to be very little in the form of effective strategies that are being put in place to tackle the issue with any sort of urgency. This failure of effective policy measures may be as a result of an absence of enough empirical evidence pointing definitively to the precise causes of childhood obesity. Once such is lacking it is very difficult to develop policies that will effectively target the issue and reflect any improvement in either the long or short run. Lawson (2007) indicates that dietary practices have an influence on infant growth and development even while the child is still in the womb. The role of early nutrition in putting infants at increased risked of developing obesity has been one of the most closely examined areas. This debate usually concerns the issues of breast feeding and formula use in the early years of a child’s development. Researchers have explored, with varying degrees of success the merits of breastfeeding infants as compared to using commercially manufactured formula particularly in the earliest years of a child’s development. Researchers are not agreed on whether the use of infant formula instead of breast feeding puts children at risk for obesity or whether breast feeding is a significant to protect against the development of obesity. Patterns of breastfeeding and formula use The patterns of breastfeeding worldwide give a little clarity as to the basis of the breast-fed versus formula-fed debate. While it is recommended that mothers only provide breast milk for their infants up to six months old (Minda, Molnr, Burus Decsi, 2002; WHO, 2003) it appears that a significant amount of early mothers are unwilling to breastfeed their newborn, according to statistics discussed by Lawson (2007). Only 76% of babies are breastfed at birth. This number drops to 46% by the time the babies reach six weeks and to 21% at six months. These figures do not reflect that breast feeding is done in tandem with other dietary regimens. Shockingly only 10% of mothers feed their babies on exclusively breast milk in the first 24 weeks of life. By this age the majority of mothers have already begun introducing weaning foods or infant formula. While it is true that some mothers are unable to produce enough milk to satisfy nutritional needs as the child matures, far too many are eliminating breast milk completely from the diet of their infants or introducing breast milk substitutes too early. Evidently many mothers are using formulas as the primary or exclusive food source for their infants (Lawson, 2007). Health professionals are finding it increasingly difficult to encourage new mothers to breast feed their babies. Efforts via the media and breast feeding programs do not appear to be very effective in improving the rate of breast feeding in countries throughout the world. The United Kingdom is believed to be one of the worst affected with regards to breast feeding. The World Health Organization (2003) reveals that 31% of UK mothers as compared to 2% in Sweden make no attempt at breastfeeding their newborn. Various factors seem to be associated with unwillingness to breastfeed. Age is one of the most pertinent factors with statistics revealing that 40% of mothers aged below 24 make no attempt at breastfeeding (Hyman Stanner, 2004). Non-breastfeeding mothers often cite reasons such as tenderness of nipples and the baby refusing the breast as reasons for not breastfeeding. Additionally some mothers argue that they are producing insufficient milk to adequately meet the needs of the baby thus by anywhere between one week and four months an alternative food source has to be supplied. Some mothers have to return to work and thus unable to continue breastfeeding. Socioeconomic class is also significant in determining willingness to breastfeed. Mothers in the lower socioeconomic classes have been shown to be less apt to breast feed. Ethnicity also plays a role as ethnic minorities are more likely to breastfeed than whites (Hyman Stanner, 2004). Comparison of infant formula and breast milk Scientists have pointed out that the nutritional and energy composition of breast milk varies considerably from that of infant formula. Scientists have indicated that the human breast milk is the most appropriate diet for babies as it contains, in adequate quantities, the nutrients required by the baby (Hosoi et al., 2005; Lawson, 2007). Though infant formulas are safe substitutes to breast milk they are still not optimal for infants. Lawson (2007) points out that unmodified milk from other mammals is not suitable for infants during the first year of life. Breast milk is a very complex biological fluid and Lawson (2007) points out that it contains well over 300 components. It has long been established that, with all the technological efficiencies available to man, it is very difficult and practically impossible to replicate in baby formula all the contents of human breast milk. One very important difference between human breast milk and infant formulas is in their fatty acid content. Minda et al. (2002) indicates that breast milk contains all the essential fatty acids, linoleic, a-linolenic, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acids. The importance of fat in the diet of developing infants cannot be overstated. Infants up to age one obtain as much as 50% of their energy requirements from the fat present in milk. Fats serve a variety of functions in the new born system in addition to providing energy. The infant body is unable to produce fatty acids and other lipids in sufficient amounts to meet their developmental needs. Fats therefore help to supply these acids and lipids as well as vitamins A, D, E and K. Human breast milk contains these essential fatty acids but these are only present in limited amounts in formulas. Long chain fatty acids especially are also essential for effective development brain membranes and the nervous system so that infant formulas which do not adequately duplicate the amount of long chain fatty acids present in human breast milk may develop deficiencies in their nervous tissue (Lawson, 2007). The energy requirements obtained from fats should decrease between ages three and five. Human breast milk is dynamic in that it changes its composition as the child develops, varying the proportion of nutrients it contains so that with continued lactation the fat content of breast milk decreases. Infant formulas do not have this characteristic and thus infants fed on formula may tend to be fed too much of a particular nutrient at critical points during their development (Lawson, 2007). Formula-fed infants have been shown to have higher energy content than those fed on breast milk which may explain the tendency to gain more weight. The hormonal contents of breast milk and infant formula also vary. Human breast milk has a variety of hormones which impact positively the growth, development and metabolism of the newborn. Infant formulas, however, are unable to reproduce these biological hormones (Lawson, 2007).