Breastfeeding Babies Exposed To Diabetes In Utero Protects Against Childhood Obesity

Breastfeeding a baby exposed to diabetes in utero may help protect that infant from becoming obese during childhood, according to a study published in the February issue of Diabetes Care and an accompanying editorial, which noted that population-wide detection and treatment of gestational diabetes takes on even greater importance due to these findings.

Babies that were breastfed for six months or more, after exposure to maternal diabetes in utero, were no more likely to put on extra weight as children (ages 6-13) than those who were not exposed to diabetes, the study found. This effect was not realized, however, for babies breastfed less than six months. The results were consistent across ethnicities.

"Our data suggest that breastfeeding promotion may be an effective strategy for reducing the increased risk of childhood obesity in offspring of mothers with diabetes during pregnancy," said Dr. Dana Dabelea, Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health, and lead researcher on the study. "Since childhood obesity and in utero exposure to maternal diabetes have both been associated with later development of type 2 diabetes, it follows that breastfeeding these children may also help reduce their future risk for developing type 2. However, further research would be needed to confirm that added protection."

The study also suggests that the early postnatal period may be a critical period for determining future obesity and diabetes risk, the researchers concluded. "The macronutrient composition of breastmilk (i.e. protein, fat, carbohydrate) and bioactive substances not present in formula may influence metabolic programming and regulation of body fatness and growth rate," they wrote.

Previous research has shown that children born to mothers who had diabetes during pregnancy are more prone to childhood obesity than those who are not, perhaps because they are "programmed" to put on extra weight due to exposure to their mother's excessive glucose levels during these critical stages of prenatal development.

In an editorial accompanying this study, Dr. Andreas Plagemann, of the Clinic of Obstetrics, Division of Experimental Obstetrics, Charite-University Medicine Berlin, wrote that the study reinforced the importance of breastfeeding and of testing and treating pregnant women for diabetes "to enhance not only the prenatal but also the neonatal nutritional environment of the offspring."

"Beyond its important role for mother-child binding, breastfeeding as compared to formula has a considerable number of positive short and long term effects on human development, such as a decreased incidence of high respiratory infections, a lower risk of asthma and atopy, and a decreased risk of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes as well as type 1 diabetes," he wrote. "Moreover, profound evidence exists that breastfeeding has the potential to permanently decrease the long-term risk of developing obesity, as shown by the results of at least for meta-analyses on this issue."

 

HHS Official, Dr. Koh, Joins Cambridge Officials To Celebrate 1st Anniversary Of First Lady's Campaign To End Childhood Obesity

U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Howard K. Koh joined Cambridge Mayor David Maher and other local officials at the Haggerty School to celebrate First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative. The campaign, which aims to end childhood obesity within a generation, was launched one year ago this week.

As part of the celebration, Dr. Koh - a Cambridge native, a former Massachusetts Commissioner of Public Health and a former Associate Dean for Public Health Practice at the Harvard School of Public Health - declared the city of Cambridge to be the nation's newest Let's Move! city. Cambridge officials committed their continued support of the city's comprehensive approach to promoting healthier foods, increasing physical activity opportunities, helping parents make healthy family choices and making healthy food more affordable and accessible.

Cambridge is considered a national leader in healthy weight promotion and was lauded for creating a healthier environment for children through its innovative approaches to physical activity, offering healthier and locally grown foods in its school meals' program, producing health and fitness progress reports, establishing school gardens in all elementary schools and developing model school nutrition policies.

The Cambridge ceremony is one of 18 similar events taking place across the nation to highlight progress achieved in the past year.

"Over the last year we've fundamentally changed the conversation about how we eat, how we move and how we get our food. Communities across the country, like Cambridge, are implementing creative solutions to ending childhood obesity," said Mrs. Obama. "Together, we're making a real difference in the lives of children and today there's a real sense of hope that we can end childhood obesity."

The Let's Move! campaign has an ambitious national goal of solving the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation through a comprehensive approach by engaging every sector impacting the health of children. It seeks to put children on the path to a healthy future starting with their earliest months and years, give parents the information they need to make healthy choices for their families, provide healthier foods in our schools, ensure that every family has access to healthy, affordable food; and help kids become more physically active.

"We salute the heroes who are dedicated to reducing childhood obesity," said Dr. Koh. "Cambridge has excelled in promoting and launching these elements into its 'Healthy Living Cambridge Kids' program. We encourage more communities around the nation to lead by example."

Over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled. Today, almost one in every three children in our nation is overweight or obese. The numbers are even higher in African American, Hispanic and American Indian/Alaska Native communities, where 40% of the children are overweight or obese. If we don't solve this problem, one third of all children born in 2000 or later could suffer from diabetes at some point in their lives. Many others will face chronic obesity-related health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer and asthma.

Since the First Lady launched her initiative last year, individuals and organizations around the country have come together to develop innovative solutions and implement new programs. Key accomplishments achieved in the first year of the Let's Move! initiative include:

- For the first time in three decades, the President signed groundbreaking legislation (Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act) into law, allowing for changes people had sought for years, and enacting the most meaningful and comprehensive change to food in schools we've seen in a generation.

- Walmart, one of the nation's largest retail stores, announced a new Nutrition Charter that is designed to bring healthier and more affordable foods to the 140 million customers who shop at its stores each week.

- Sport leagues, including the National Hockey League, the US Tennis Association, and Major League Baseball, have teamed up with Let's Move! to air public service announcements. Last summer we launched the Presidential Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. Through this outreach, kids are inspired by their favorite athletes to play sports and get active.

- The American Academy of Pediatrics has pledged that 100 percent of its doctors will screen for BMI and we're working with family physicians to measure BMI during Well Child visits. The new Affordable Care Act right now requires all new health insurance plans to cover screening for childhood obesity and counseling from doctors without a co-pay or any other payment.

- And faith groups from all across the country have committed to walking 3 million miles and hosting 10,000 community gardens or farmers markets.

- Nearly 500 communities across the country have become Let's Move! Cities and Towns.

To learn more about the Let's Move! initiative and download action plans for communities, schools and parents, go here.

Source:
HHS

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Regular Family Meals Are A Body Blow To Childhood Obesity

According to the Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA), children who regularly eat meals with their families eat more fruit, vegetables, whole grains and calcium-rich foods, and drink fewer soft drinks than other children their age.

DAA Spokesperson Lisa Renn said: 'Family meals encourage slower eating, compared with grab-and-go meals. It takes 20 minutes for your brain to know your stomach is full. And taking the time to eat slowly means eating fewer kilojoules.

'Plus, families at home tend to serve healthier portion sizes than fast food outlets and restaurants, so regular family meals are a body blow to childhood obesity.'

Ms Renn said trading TV time for meal time can help strengthen family ties. But according to an Australian survey, one in two family dinners are eaten while watching television.

'By switching off the TV, conversation will flow more easily and you'll enjoy each other's company - and the food you're eating. So you'll not only be healthier but happier as a family,' said Ms Renn, an Accredited Practising Dietitian.

She suggests aiming for at least five meals a week together, but knows that could be hard for families juggling busy schedules. Ms Renn said planning ahead is the key, and suggested scheduling meal times and weekly menus as a family over the weekend.

'If you want your family to live healthy, happy lives you need to make healthy food and family meal times a priority. What you feed your family and the patterns you set up today will predict their future health,' said Ms Renn.

Lisa's tips for quick and healthy family dinners:

- Choose dishes that are easy to assemble, such as soup with crusty bread, salad with lean cooked chicken or tuna mixed through, or pasta with a tomato-and herb-based sauce.

- Use a slow cooker or crock pot. Prepare your meal early in the day and place in the slow cooker. At dinner time, a hot meal will be waiting.

- Make burgers or pizza at home. This will be healthier and cheaper than the take-away versions. Buy pizza bases at the grocery store, and add your own sauce and toppings (like lean chicken pieces, mushrooms, capsicum and pineapple).

Source: Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA)

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posted by Juan Ramirez on 6 Feb 2011 at 5:15 pm

We can be full, even bloated and still hungry; the idea is to give the brain time to sense that we are satisfied.
Most experts agree with the 20 minute rule.
There are now "plates for eating slowly" on the market; they keep food warm.firm's

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The War On Childhood Obesity Won In The Vegetable Garden, Says Burpee Garden Company

George Ball, Chairman and CEO of national gardening brand W. Atlee Burpee & Company, dubs 2011 the "Year of the Vegetable" in an op-ed piece featured in the Wall Street Journal's opinion pages. The piece, published on January 3, 2011, offers Mr. Ball's fresh perspective on helping solve the childhood obesity epidemic -- by getting kids (and their families) to eat more vegetables. The best way to achieve this, Mr. Ball asserts, is for parents to involve their children in vegetable gardening.

Click here to read Mr. Ball's op-ed piece.

"In our research at W. Atlee Burpee, we have found that kids who grow vegetables alongside their parents eat them regularly and with gusto," writes Mr. Ball.

The Burpee company found, in a 2009 poll of their garden customers, that 93 percent of respondents believe that children who engage in vegetable gardening with their parents are more likely to take an interest in eating vegetables.

A lifelong gardener and horticulturist, Mr. Ball is a strong advocate for the benefits of gardening with children. He is credited with initiating a national children's gardening program in 1993, along with numerous other children's garden initiatives across the country, while President of the American Horticultural Society.

"With one in every three children in the U.S. either overweight or obese, it's clear this epidemic is now the nation's disease. I am optimistic that 2011 will represent the beginning of a nutritional revolution in this country," says Mr. Ball.

George Ball is a past president of the American Horticultural Society (AHS) and the current chairman and CEO of W. Atlee Burpee & Co.

Source:
Burpee Garden Company

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