Comparing the incidence of obesity in children who had been breast fed, compared to those who were formula fed

Abstract

Overview of the topic: Childhood obesity is a condition in which children have excessive body fat. It happens when a child's body mass index- calculated using the child's weight and height, is at or above the 95th percentile for his or her age and gender. It is a growing global concern and a major public health challenge in many countries as it can lead to a variety of serious health problems. Obese children are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, asthma, sleep apnea, and other health problems. The type of feeding methods given to the child as an infant- such as breastfeeding or formula feeding can result obesity. The research question: Do children who were breastfed have a lower incidence of obesity when compared with children who were formula fed? PICO Elements: The population (P) was children. The intervention (I) studied was children who were breastfed. The comparison (C) group was children who were formula fed. Outcome (O) was the risk of obesity in children. Inclusion and Exclusion criteria: studies which included adults were excluded. Studies which included children who were only mix fed were excluded, also those studies which did not have obesity as an outcome were excluded. Studies which were not written in the English language and were older than 10 years were excluded. Studies which included children with a high BMI or children who were breastfed/formula fed were included. Search outcome: After the inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied, five articles were eligible for the study. These consisted of two randomized controlled trials, two cohort studies and one cross-sectional study. Method: The PICO elements were used to derive alternative keywords. These keywords were then inputted in a systematic search of trustworthy databases such as HyDi, CINHAL Complete (EBSCO), and PubMed. Results: The results of the studies were consistent and significant, indicating that the intervention is effective. However, several methodological limitations were discovered, which could have influenced the obtained results. Conclusion: In this research paper, a definite conclusion could not be obtained. Some evidence did prove that breastfeeding does in fact reduce the risk of obesity in children. However, more evidence is required to answer the PICO question better. Implications and recommendations: Interventions should be implemented to encourage breastfeeding, improve the quality of formula milk, and assist parents in developing healthy feeding practices. Furthermore, nurses should inform parents about the benefits of breastfeeding and the risks of formula milk before the child is born in order to prevent early diagnosis of obesity. Another factor that should be implemented is an increase in the number of nurses or midwives visiting schools to test children's weight and body mass index. This will aid in the early detection of obesity in children and the reduction of obesity rates.