Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Hormones should not be added to baby formula

There is a lot of talk about obesity in children and a lot of advice on how to make it stop. This week, there has been talk about adding a hormone into baby formula that would suppress the baby’s appetite and make the child not want to eat as much. This is a ridiculous idea that is not only unhealthy but probably would not work.



First off, babies should not take formula until they are older; the healthiest babies are usually breastfed. But if you do not want to give your child breast milk and give them formula, they need to have the best nutrients possible. Putting a hormone that would suppress hunger is not one of them.



Babies need to be a little fat, not overly fat, but they require a little extra fat on them. That is why they call is baby fat. There is no need to make them anorexic before they get their first tooth.



There is a need to make sure babies and young kids start to develop a healthy lifestyle with healthy, careful eating habits and good exercise routines. But to intentionally make the child not want to eat is not the healthy way to go forward with this process. There are better ways.