eLetters is an online forum for ongoing peer review. To submit an eLetter please go to the article you wish to respond to and click on the link that reads "eLetters: Submit a Response." Submission of eLetters are open to all health care professionals and experts in related fields.

eLetters to:

ARTICLE:
Nicolas Stettler, Babette S. Zemel, Shiriki Kumanyika, and Virginia A. Stallings
Infant Weight Gain and Childhood Overweight Status in a Multicenter, Cohort Study
Pediatrics 2002; 109: 194-199 [Abstract] [Full text] [PDF]
*eLetters: Submit a response to this article

eLetters published:

[Read eLetters] Rapid weight gain in the formula-fed infant is indicator of future obesity
Nikki Lee   (8 March 2007)

Rapid weight gain in the formula-fed infant is indicator of future obesity 8 March 2007
Top
Nikki Lee,
lactation consultant
Philadelphia Department of Public Health

Send letter to journal:
Re: Rapid weight gain in the formula-fed infant is indicator of future obesity

Nikki.Lee{at}phila.gov Nikki Lee

I read this article and want to call attention to the fact that the exclusively breastfed infant will gain weight at a rapid rate in the first 4-6 months of life; in the second half of the first year, the breastfed baby's rate of weight gain slows. Whitehead and others have documented this phenomenon.

However, the artificially-fed baby is at risk for future obesity when the rate of weight gain is rapid. Mothers will feed formula ad lib if the baby is fussy, or to finish everything in the bottle because formula is expensive. Taveras and others have documented that breastfeeding sustains the baby's self-regulation of intake, which may be one reason that breastfeeding is protective against obesity.

The clinician, when faced with an infant whose rate of weight gain is rapid, needs to determine which method of feeding is being used to provide accurate counseling.

Conflict of Interest:

None declared