On 07/02/2012 11:08, Rachel Myr wrote:
> Not primarily about breastfeeding, but definitely relevant about
> introduction of complementary feeding.  Thanks to Magda Sachs, who
> sent me these links today.  It's all based on this article, just
> published online, by Ellen Townsend and Nicola Pitchford, titled "Baby
> knows best? The impact of weaning style on food preferences and body
> mass index in early childhood in a case-controlled sample"   'Weaning'
> in the UK means 'introduction of solids', not 'cessation of
> breastfeeding'.  The term 'complementary feeding' is my preference
> since it more accurately describes the role of other foods in the diet
> of a breastfed child.
>
> http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/2/1/e000298.full.pdf+html?sid=52e449d1-1420-443a-b08e-8309150d10ea
>
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16905371
>
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/feb/07/baby-feeding-weight
>
Very interesting - thanks.  However, because they don't appear to have 
looked at differences between the two groups in approach to 
eating/parenting style generally beyond the early decisions about 
breastfeeding and solids, I don't think we can assume the differences in 
obesity rates that they found actually are due to the baby-led weaning 
itself rather than some confounding factor.  They recruited the BLW 
group from BLW internet sites and the comparison group from elsewhere, 
so it could well be that the BLW group were the ones who were more 
likely to be going through associated websites about healthy nutrition 
and/or about positive discipline - and, if you look at the unusually 
long lengths of breastfeeding in the BLW group (unusual for the 
developed world, I mean), it suggests that this is a parenting group who 
probably are somewhat out of the ordinary in ways other than how they 
went about introducing solids.

It may simply be that the more conventional group are the ones who are 
now telling their children to eat up everything on their plates and not 
waste good food while the group recruited via the internet have read 
better advice and are more relaxed about not getting into disciplinary 
battles over their children's eating, and/or more likely to be offering 
healthier food choices as a result of being in an internet group that 
would be casually discussing and reinforcing the importance of healthy 
eating - and that these differences, not whether their children were 
given purées or solids two years ago, are what account for the 
difference in obesity rates.  I'd want to see further research examining 
this possibility.


Best wishes,

Sarah (all in favour of BLW for practical reasons, but dubious as to 
whether it has anything in particular in the way of health advantages!)

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