Bottle-Feeding May Lead to Obesity
Formula is thought to contribute to excessive weight gain by infants, snowballing into obesity as the child grows, but the bottle itself may be part of the problem. A study found that babies who get breast milk only from bottles gain weight more rapidly than those who get it exclusively from mothers' breasts. The researchers observed no difference in weight gain between babies who were breast-fed and those who received human milk from breasts and bottles alike, suggesting that it's OK to supplement breast-feeding with bottled breast milk. Bottle-fed babies gained 3 ounces more per month during their first year than breast-fed ones. That's perhaps because babies can control how much milk they swallow during breast-feeding while parents often take the lead with bottles. Looking to babies for feeding cues may help parents avoid overfeeding when using bottles.
Source: Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, May 2012