PREADOLESCENT OBESITY RISK IN OFFSPRING REDUCED BY BREASTFEEDING

A new study reveals that mothers who experienced gestational diabetes can significantly reduce their children’s risk of developing obesity during preadolescence through two key strategies: choosing breastfeeding over bottle feeding and eliminating sugary beverages from their children’s diets.

Researchers led by Baiyang Sun examined health data from 850 mother-child pairs where mothers had gestational diabetes, focusing on whether breastfeeding practices and sugar-sweetened drink consumption could help prevent excess weight gain in children aged six to eleven years.

The research found concerning obesity rates among the study participants, with 17.6% of preadolescents classified as overweight and 18.2% as moderately obese.

Key findings showed dramatic differences in obesity risk based on early feeding practices. Children whose mothers chose not to breastfeed faced triple the risk of developing obesity. Similarly, preadolescents who regularly consumed sugar-sweetened beverages were three times more likely to become obese than those who avoided these drinks entirely.

According to the research team, these results highlight two actionable interventions that mothers can implement: “Breastfeeding adequacy and avoidance of sugary beverages in early life are modifiable lifestyle behaviours that may combat preadolescent obesity in infants exposed to gestational diabetes, suggesting potential longer-term benefits on child cardiometabolic health.”

The study underscores how early nutritional choices can have lasting impacts on children’s metabolic health, particularly for those already at elevated risk due to maternal gestational diabetes.

The study was published in the journal Obesity.