Breastfeeding protects from the risk that the child then develop a eating disorder later?
THE’breastfeeding It has been studied in depth in relation to the undeniably positive effects on the physical health of children both in childhood and in adolescence.
Some studies also suggest that breastfeeding during the first year of life can protect children and teenagers from developing overweight.
In a review of 70 studies, it is actually highlighted that the BMI (the body mass index) is less than the subjects who had received breastfeeding.
However, the difference between the BMI of breastfeed people and those breastfeeding with artificial milk is minimal and it is plausible to hypothesize that it can be influenced by other factors.
Can breastfeeding be a risk factor for the future development of a food disorder?
A recent research carried out on a sample of US teenagers, he tried to study theAssociation between breastfeeding and the risk of developing bulimic behaviors and diagnosed eating disorders.
Despite the obvious limits of the study, no association was found between breastfeeding (or the duration of breastfeeding) and the risk of developing eating disorders.
The data also shows that breastfeeding does not offer no protection towards food problems which could arise in childhood or adolescence.
Obviously the mothers must not be certain discouraged from using breastfeeding, as as previously stated, a range of physical benefits on the health of the baby are evident.
The early risk factors for it development of eating disorders They are still little studied, but undoubtedly breastfeeding represents the first nutrition experience for the child and as such, it is an important stage for the development of a healthy relationship with food.
Breastfeeding and artificial breastfeeding: the theme of control
Breastfeeding, rather than the bottle, could determine different experiences as regards the control of the power supply between mother and child.
Breastfeeding does not allow parents to have precise feedback compared to the amount of milk taken by the child and the mother’s behavior could be more influenced by the newborn responses.
The meal will stop when the sucking of the newborn slows down or stops and therefore arrives, the sense of satiety of the child. This represents an important internal adjustment experience of nutrition.
Contrary, in nutrition by bottle, the mother has a clearer feedback on the quantities of milk consumed by the child and therefore will play a more active role in determining the moment when the diet ends.
So breastfeeding or bottle?
It is not the purpose of this article to list the benefits of breast milk for the development of the newborn.
However, what appears important for a healthy psychological developmentis that regardless of the choice of the nutritional system, parents know how to diversify the signs of hunger, fullness of the child from those to emotional value. That they answer you adequately, offering food when the baby is hungry but not when he needs affection or is bored and ending the meal when he is satio and not when the food is over.
If you respond to emotional signals with food, the child, growing up, will confuse hunger with emotional experiences and learn to eat or refuse food when he warns emotions such as sadness, frustration or anger.
This certainly represents fertile ground for the development of food problemssuch as Bulimia Nervosa, Anorexia Nervosa, binge-eating disorder especially in critical development periods such as adolescence.
What really matters?
Being a mother means much more than having a sufficient amount of milk, being mothers is much more than breastfeeding.
The ability of respond to the needs of the newborn with food when it is hungrywhatever the chosen way (breast or bottle), is the thing that really imports.
