A number of you have E-mailed and asked for a copy of my letter to the editor
of the Boston Globe, as there was a problem accessing their web site. This
letter was written in response to an editorial discussing programs to address
overweight and obesity. It was published December 22, 2003.

The Dec. 18 editorial, "Policies, Not Pills," discusses after-the-fact
interventions for overweight and obese children and teenagers. These children start
out as infants whose diet forms the foundation for their health throughout
their lives.

Babies who are not breastfed are 25 percent more likely to become overweight
and obese. Programs that target lifestyle changes must also include funding
and provisions for the original anti-obesity diet--human milk.

Combating obesity starts at the outset of life. It requires policies and
funding that promote and support breastfeeding, and the dissemination of
information to the public that breast milk serves as the software for programming the
body to resist obesity.

Financing anti-obesity campaigns by the Centers for Disease Control in all
states is important. Too bad the National Breastfeeding Awareness campaign
sponsored by the Office on Women's Health, an agency within the Department of
Health and Human Services, has been halted by infant formula manufacturers who do
not wish the public to know that breast milk is the first step in reducing the
obesity epidemic.

Marsha Walker, RN
Weston, MA

             ***********************************************

To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]

The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html