Adult health depends on what they ate in the first two years of life. And also by the type of weaning. Because it is true that we are what we eat, but also what we ate when we switched from milk as an exclusive food to foods other than milk, that is, when we were weaned. And our health would be linked to what we ate as children.
Too many differences, including economic ones
Weaning, or weaning or even better complementary feeding, as defined by the WHO (World Health Organization), is the period of life – from 4-5 months up to about one year of age – in which breast milk or formulated ceases to be the exclusive food of the diet, and the child gradually comes to feed the rest of the family. But families are not all the same, they are not equal in terms of economic availability, education and access to information. They don’t do the same shopping and they don’t eat the same things.
“The point – he said in fact Antonio D’Avino president of Fimp, the Federation of family doctors at a congress from 12 to 15 October – is that how do we feed, in terms of quality and quantity, within the family unit in the first 1000 days of life, that is, from conception to the two years of age, dramatically affects the future state of health of the person “.
80% of obese children are obese as adults
In Italy there are 100 thousand cases of obesity and overweight in children, mainly concentrated in the south of the country. According to the latest report by OKkio to Healththe surveillance system of the Ministry of Health on overweight-obesity and related risk factors in primary school children, out of a sample of 50 thousand third grade children 20.4% are overweight and 9.4% are obese .
But the most interesting fact is that about 80% of obese children remain obese as adults: that is men and women exposed to a higher risk of getting cardiovascular disease (in particular heart attack and stroke), hypertension, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome. And some forms of cancer: for example breast, thyroid, ovary, liver, pancreas.
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“Obesity is a multifactorial condition, with low socioeconomic status among the risk factors – resumes D’Avino, who is a family pediatrician in Naples -. Breastfeeding, on the other hand, is a protective factor of obesity. indicate that exclusively breastfed babies tend to gain less weight in the first few years of life. But there are studies that also suggest that younger, less educated mothers, those with manual labor who must return to work soon after maternity, have a higher risk of stopping exclusive breastfeeding early. They tend to switch to mixed breastfeeding first, and also to include solid foods in children’s diets first. And it is the same women who perhaps give in more easily to pressure of marketing, social pressures and that lead to inappropriate suggestions circulating on the web or in blogs “.
The quality of the food
The quality of the food offered to children is also different: the less advantaged families tend to use more ready-made foods, to add sugar and salt to home-cooked foods, they use more often fast food also for the feeding of the young child: paradoxically, while at the beginning of weaning in less well-off families a greater number of foods are introduced, when the child is one year old, when weaning is completed, the opposite happens: the variety of foods is lower than that of families who have greater possibilities.
The food class
All classisms are hateful, food even more than others, because it concerns very young children, and can leave marks on their health for a long time: a bit like a destiny. “For this reason it is very important to intervene as soon as possible already during pregnancy, inserting the figure of the pediatrician in the pre-birth courses, to prevent the establishment of incorrect behavior. As family pediatricians – continues the Fimp president – we are committed to training and informing parents on the protective potential of what we eat as children, on how much the choices made in the first two years of life and even before pregnancy weigh on the future adult. 14 years, we do health education and nutrition education, which is important for all families, but especially for those who have less access to correct information. Through those meetings we can change the eating habits of our little patients and the whole family, pushing all towards a healthier diet “.
Correct weaning
During the congress, the document produced by 4 pediatric societies was also presented (in addition to Fimp, by Sipps, the Italian society of preventive and social pediatrics, Sinupe, the Italian society of pediatric nutrition and SIDOHaD, the Italian society for the development and origins of health and disease). “A document – he explains Giuseppe Di Mauropresident Sipps – designed to offer all family pediatricians the tools to indicate the correct steps to parents, with indications drawn up on a solid basis of scientific evidence “.
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For instance? “There is undisputed evidence in three very specific cases: do not take cow’s milk in the first year of life due to the risk of deficiency anemia, do not introduce gluten early or too far to prevent the onset of celiac disease, instead introduce it at the beginning of the complementary nutrition together with other foods “, concludes Di Mauro.
What has changed
Speaking of before and after, let’s talk about the past and the present. Something has changed in the indications for weaning. “Yes, something has changed. In the past we believed that allergenic foods, such as kiwifruit, dried fruit, egg, should be introduced late, because it was believed that anticipating their insertion favored the risk of allergies. Today we know on scientific grounds that it is the opposite. : that by offering these foods at the same time as others, the risk of developing allergies is reduced, “he says Raffaella De Franchis, contact person in the Food and Nutrition Area of the Fimp. “We also know – resumes the expert, family pediatrician in Naples – that before the age of one children should not be offered herbal teas and fruit juices and sugary drinks in general, and that those who are exclusively breastfed would do well to take only breast milk until the sixth month, and after, during weaning, prolong breastfeeding as much as possible “.
Proteins are obesogenic
“We know for sure that an excessive protein intake in the complementary feeding phase predisposes to future obesity: parents must stick to the amounts of protein recommended by the nutritional tables: 25-30 grams up to 12 months”, adds De Franchis. In addition, obesity, putting the body in a constant inflammatory state “facilitates the appearance in adulthood and advanced age of diseases related to inflammation, such as Chron and ulcerative colitis, for example – adds De Franchis – and then diseases autoimmune, dementia “.
Mediterranean weaning
Among the many models of complementary nutrition, the Mediterranean one is the master. “We pediatricians of Fimp in Naples – continues the expert – have published on Nutrients a research that evaluated the effectiveness of a Mediterranean type weaning, based only on fresh, seasonal foods and preparing yourself in a tasty way with spices and aromatic herbs “. The result?” Extremely interesting: the children of the study at 3 years ate more Mediterranean than the others, and their mothers had better eating habits. Furthermore, we have preliminary data indicating a beneficial effect on the gut microbiota, in terms of the variety and quantity of good microorganisms. “