Instant Guide

Does bottle-feeding make kids obese?

Giving kids bottles when they're perfectly able to use cups increases the odds that they'll be fat by kindergarten, concludes a new study

Scientists have uncovered many contributors to the child-obesity epidemic. The latest culprit? The baby bottle. A new study published in the journal Pediatrics says children who are bottle-fed beyond age 2 are more likely than others to be fat at age 5. Here, a brief guide to the findings:

How was the study conducted?
Researchers analyzed the habits and weight of 6,750 children — all born in 2001 — in an Ohio database. About one in five were still using the bottle at age 2.

So how much does bottle-feeding increase the chances of obesity?
Substantially. Twenty-three percent of kids who had been bottle-fed past age 2 were obese at age 5. Just 16 percent of those who stopped drinking from the bottle by age 2 were severely overweight by age 5.

Why such a difference?
Bottles are typically filled with fattening whole milk. One 8-ounce bottle has up to 150 calories, which amounts to 12 percent of the daily dietary needs of a healthy 2-year-old.

Are there other health risks?
Yes. Bottle-fed kids were also prone to tooth decay and other problems — especially if their bottles were sometimes filled with sugary juice.

So when's the best time to wean kids from the bottle?
Pediatricians encourage parents to start getting their kids off the bottle at age 1. And 18 months is really the outer limit when making the switch to cups. "Can the child drink appropriately from a cup?" asks dietician Keith Ayoob of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. "If they can, there's no more need for the bottle."

Sources: Parentdish, CBS News, U.S. News, ABC News

Recommended

6 incredible homes in Charleston, South Carolina
House
Feature

6 incredible homes in Charleston, South Carolina

The Check-In: The passport waiting game
U.S. passports
Feature

The Check-In: The passport waiting game

The Week contest: Dad jokes
Father and son laughing.
Feature

The Week contest: Dad jokes

A company made a meatball from lab-grown woolly mammoth, and you can't try it
Mammoth meatball
'extinct protein'

A company made a meatball from lab-grown woolly mammoth, and you can't try it

Most Popular

A plant-filled home could help prevent infections, study finds
Person watering house plants
plant prevention

A plant-filled home could help prevent infections, study finds

Millions of Americans poised to lose Medicaid coverage on April 1
Doctor holding clipboard.
healthcare at risk

Millions of Americans poised to lose Medicaid coverage on April 1

ChatGPT taken offline in Italy over privacy concerns
A ChatGPT logo with an Italian flag.
Turning Off The Tech

ChatGPT taken offline in Italy over privacy concerns