Parents who let their babies fall asleep with milk bottles may cause them to become obese.
Sleeping with bottles
Recent studies show that a baby who sleeps with a milk bottle has a higher chance of becoming an obese baby. The study was led by sociology professor, Ben Gibbs, who has studied 8,000 mothers that either breast-fed or fed their nine-month-old babies with formula, and recorded their body weights after 24 months.
Daily Mail reported that out of 8,000, Mr. Gibbs found that formula fed babies were more likely to be clinically obese. On top of this, babies who end up falling asleep with their bottles had a 30 per cent higher likelihood of obesity.
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Obese baby
What these findings suggest, according to Mr. Gibbs, is that formula-fed babies who have a higher chance of being obese will also have a harder time regulating their appetites in the future. This puts them at an even higher risk of being obese later on in life.
Furthermore, Mr. Gibbs claimed that mothers who measure their babies’ formula by the ounces usually overfeed them as compared to breastfeeding them. A baby who feeds on solid food is also 40 per cent more likely to be an obese baby.
RELATED: Overweight kids can develop spine abnormalities
A lot of times obesity really depends on habits taught early in life
Not always true
Even though feeding techniques play an important role in determining whether your baby will be an obese baby or not, paediatrician, Dr. Cynthia Mann insists that babies should never be labelled as ‘fat’ just because they feed on formula or fall asleep with the bottle.
It is normal for babies to have layers of fat because they keep them warm. Furthermore, some babies are simply fatter than other babies. But the only way parents can really enable an obese baby is to rectify every situation with a milk bottle, causing the baby to consume excessive calories.
Mr. Gibbs summed up, “The takeaway here is that the habits we adopt early on for our babies matter later in life.”
RELATED: Calculating BMI in children
Formula feeding
Mothers are usually encouraged to breastfeed their infants. As Dr. Yong Tze Tein says, “Breast milk is preventive medicine at its best.” However, if a mother opts for formula instead, we suggest different types of infant formulas to look out for before making a purchase. There are three main types:
- Cow’s milk - It's the closest thing to breast milk
- Hypoallergenic- Easier to digest
- Soy based (for a vegan diet) - Alternative to cow's milk formula
Do you think sleeping with a bottle will make your baby obese? Tell us your opinion. We'd love to hear from you! For more on this topic, watch this video:
