Breastfeeding for longer may change a baby’s gut bacteria to protect them from becoming overweight, according to a Canadian child-health longitudinal study. Researchers found that babies who were fed only formula were three times as likely to be overweight compared with their breastfed peers. The formula-fed babies also had more diverse gut bacteria—this could be seen even in preemies that had only been fed formula when they were in hospital after birth. The researchers says some bacteria found only in te formula-fed three-month-olds are known to contribute to the risk of becoming overweight.
JAMA Pediatrics
Published June 04, 2018 19:00 EDT (News release from JAMA)
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Corresponding author: Meghan Azad, University of Manitoba – meghan.azad@umanitoba.ca
