Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
ForwardDoes Breast-Feeding Help Prevent Childhood Obesity?: Weighing the Evidence
This continuing education course addresses the association between breast-feeding and pediatric obesity; highlights gaps in our understanding of the relationship between variables, misconceptions, and confounding factors; and discusses possible directions and strategies to optimize growth and body composition in the pediatric population. It also provides an overview of the rationale behind formula feeding, a quantitative and qualitative comparison of breastmilk vs formula, a synopsis of the vast literature investigating the association between modality of feeding and childhood obesity, and a discussion of the multitude of factors that make causal inference difficult to ascertain.
Learning Objectives
After completing the continuing education course, nutrition professionals should be better able to:
- Explain the differences among nutritive and nonnutritive components of human breastmilk and formula.
- Identify maternal, offspring, and dyad interactive factors that may explain the potential association between breast-feeding and obesity.
- Discuss the role of maternal weight status in the association between breast-feeding and offspring obesity.
- Critically evaluate evidence reporting a protective effect of breast-feeding on offspring obesity.
- Apply evidence-based information on the relationship between breast-feeding and obesity to public health and private practice.
Additional Information
Krista Casazza, PhD, RDN, CSSD, is associate dean for research and scholarship at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Florida.
The author has no relevant disclosures to report regarding this program. She has certified that no conflict of interest exists for this program. View our disclosure policy.
Available Credit
- 2.00 CDR