Study links infant formula feeding to higher child obesity risk

Taipei, Dec. 2 (CNA) Infants fed baby formula show metabolic characteristics associated with a higher risk of obesity, according to a study by Chang Gung Memorial Hospital that presented a metabolic presentation of early-childhood development from birth to age 5 for the first time.

The peer-reviewed study, which was published in the international journal Pediatric Allergy and Immunology in June and presented by the hospital to Taiwanese media on Monday, found that formula-fed infants showed metabolic characteristics that differed clearly from those of breastfed infants.

Those feeding differences affected gut microbiota and altered urinary metabolites and were linked to milk allergen responses and a higher risk of infant obesity, the study said.

The findings were based on an analysis that used nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to map continuous metabolic patterns across early childhood.

The research team tracked 144 children and collected urine samples at 1 month, 6 months, 1 year, 3 years and 5 years of age, using advanced metabolomic techniques to observe how the children's metabolisms changed as they grew.

The researchers also cited rising rates of childhood obesity and allergic conditions in Taiwan in recent years.

Among the tracked children, more than 30 percent were overweight or obese at age 3 and 23.2 percent remained so at age 5.

Chiu Chih-yung (邱志勇), director of the Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital's Clinical Metabolomics Core Laboratory, advised parents to encourage breastfeeding, maintain healthy diets during childhood and promote regular exercise to reduce the risks of obesity and allergic diseases.