Bottle feeding after 18 months encourages obesity

New research reported in the Journal of Pediatrics notes that bottle-feeding your baby beyond 12 to 18 months of age, may increase the risk of your child becoming obese as an adult. While many parents allow their kids to use a bottle well past 18 months, usually because it comforts the child, prolonged bottle feeding isn't a great idea. As this research notes, toddlers being allowed to walk around with a bottle may result in a child who is taking in nutrients and calories, not for actual nourishment, but for other reasons such as relaxation provided by sucking on the bottle. Co-author on this study, Keith Ayoob, tells Medical News Today:

"Unfortunately that has consequences: they (parents) get in the habit of giving the bottle or giving food to manage children's behavior. It sets up a dynamic of the kids getting food for reasons that have much less to do with hunger or appetite than behavior issues."

While childhood and adult obesity should be a major concern of parents everywhere, there are other reasons why bottle feeding after the toddler stage is a bad idea. For example, prolonged bottle feeding is also connected with baby bottle tooth decay and other dental problems. Learn how to successfully wean your baby off his bottle. + Source Photo © Flickr user Elizabeth/Table4Five