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An article in Men's Health Magazine lists the "10 Commandments" to follow to prevent children from becoming obese - and in commandment #5 "Thy Shall Not Create Unnecessary Fat Cells" the article notes "Another key to a healthy, lean baby: breast milk. And it comes in such attractive packaging. (Studies show that babies fed with formula are more likely to become overweight as kids". Join ProMoM in applauding Men's Health for their positive comments by copying the following text(revised as you'd like) to their input form.
Kudos to Men's Health for educating families about the benefits of breastfeeding in its recent article "The Trouble With Fat Kids" (Commandment #5: Thy Shall Not Create Unnecessary Fat Cells). What a wonderful way to educate families, especially fathers who are extremely important in the decision to breastfeed.
As Men's Health is no doubt aware, breastfeeding not only helps to prevent obesity, but also a multitude of other health problems, such as childhood cancers like lymphoma, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), neonatal sepsis (life-threatening infections early in life), and a multitude of respiratory and gastric illnesses. In fact, for every 87 babies who die from SIDS, only 3 were breastfed! An alarming statistic that is not heard by many when making a decision to breastfeed or formula feed.
Breastfeeding for many is seen as "optimal" or "the superior feeding choice", when in reality breastmilk is really just what the human body is designed to have for growth & development -- breastmilk is the norm. When human milk is viewed this way, then we can take the substitutes for what they really are: less than optimal and a guessing game of how to meet the needs of infants. Unfortunately, these guesses can lead to health risks for infants, and it is important to educate families about these risks when they are making the choice as to how to feed their baby.
In a culture that sees bottle-feeding as the norm, promoting and "advertising" breastfeeding is an important public service. Your article helped educate families on the benefits of breastfeeding and subsequently the risks of not doing so. Once again, thank you for spreading the word.
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