Two things you're doing today that set your children up for obesity-related health problems later in life!

by FSP Health team, 23 May 2013

If you insist your children finish every scrap of food on their plates before leaving the table, you could just be setting them up for obesity later in life. In fact, it starts earlier than this. That's because new research has just been released that shows overeating is often learned in infancy, so encouraging your baby to finish the last drop in his bottle of formula could be doing more harm than good! Here's what to do instead…

Baby fat’s often seen as a cute thing, but it should actually be worrying.

Because childhood obesity’s on the rise.

And obesity in children should be prevented at all costs, as it’s been linked to the development of Type II diabetes, and carrying extra weight when you're young puts you at risk of heart disease later in life, confirms FSPHealth.

Luckily, you CAN do something about this, as researchers from the Brigham Young University have found that clinical obesity at the age of two strongly traces back to mistakes made when feeding your baby, says Health24.

That’s a bad thing, because if you’re already overweight at two, it puts you on a trajectory where you are likely to be overweight into middle childhood, adolescence and as an adult.

The main culprit for this rise in childhood obesity?

Revealed: The top reason for the rise of childhood obesity

Babies that are fed formula over breast milk.

In fact, the study found that babies fed formula were 2.5 times more likely to become obese toddlers than babies who were breastfed for the first six months!

While other research also proves breastfeeding is better for your baby in the long run, as FSPHealth reports that a protein in breast milk's been found to reverse antibiotic resistance and make immune systems stronger, there’s more to preventing childhood obesity than sticking to breastfeeding.

Two common feeding practices that put babies at risk of obesity later in life

For example, putting babies to bed with a bottle whether they want it or not increases the risk of childhood obesity by 36%.

That’s why you should let a baby stop eating when it’s done and not force it to finish the bottle as doing so develops a pattern of eating at set times whether you’re hungry or not, which could lead to obesity down the line, says RedOrbit.

Added to this, introducing solid foods before four months of age increases a child’s risk of obesity by 40%!

So keep your baby on breast milk for linger and let him stop eating when he’s done – you’ll be safeguarding him from obesity-related health problems later in life.

Tags: baby, childhood obesity, rise of childhood obesity, breastfeed, obesity-related health problems

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