July 6, 2022

Winnipeg
19° C, Partly cloudy

Full Forecast

Contact Us Subscribe Manage Subscription Chat with us
Log in Create Free Account Help Chat with us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising Contact
    • Submit a News Tip
    • Subscribe to Newsletters

    • Finding your
      information

    • My Account
    • Manage my Subscription
    • Change Password

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate

    • Log Out
    • Log in
    • Create Free Account
    • Help

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate
  • Coronavirus Coverage
  • Replica E-Edition
    • About the E-Edition
    • Winnipeg Free Press
    • Community Review East
    • Community Review West
  • Above the Fold
  • Front page
  • Arts & Life
    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Book Club
    • Cannabis
    • Celebrities
    • Diversions
    • Puzzles
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Your Health
    • Life & Style
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Science & Technology
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Business
    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
    • Manitoba's Top Employers
  • Canada
  • Local
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
  • Sports
    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Auto Racing
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • Golf
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Horse Racing
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Olympics
    • Soccer
  • World
  • Reader BridgeNEW
  • WFP EventsNEW
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Us
    • Carrier Positions & Retailer Requests
    • FP Newspapers Inc.
    • History
    • Internships
    • Job Opportunities
    • News Café
    • Privacy Policy
    • Retail Locations
    • Staff Biographies
    • Terms and Conditions
  • Archives
  • Free Press Community Review
    • All Free Press Community Review News
    • East Edition
    • West Edition
    • Sports
    • Events
    • Contact Us
    • E-Editions
  • Classifieds
  • Contests
  • Coupons
    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print Coupons
    • Ripley's Aquariums Coupons
    • The Bay Coupons
    • Staples Canada Coupons
    • Altitude Sports Coupons
    • Nike Coupons
    • Tuango Coupons
    • Ebay Canada Coupons
    • Sport Chek Coupons
    • Roots Coupons
  • LifestylesNEW
    • All Lifestyles
    • Business Hub
    • Community
    • Drink & Dine
    • Life
    • Wellness
    • Whiskers & Wings
    • Sponsored Articles
  • Homes
    • Property Listings
    • Featured News
    • Renovation and design
    • New homes
    • Resale homes
  • Newsletters
  • Obituaries
  • Puzzles
  • Photo and Book store
  • More

©2022 FP Newspaper Inc.

Close
  • Quick Links

    • Coronavirus Coverage
    • Federal Election
    • Above the Fold
    • Home
    • Local
    • Canada
    • World
    • Classifieds
    • Special Coverage
    • Newsletters
    • Obituaries
    • Photo and Book store
    • Archives
    • Contests
    • Publications
    • Sponsored Content
    • Privacy Policy

    Ways to support us

    • Pay it Forward program
    • Subscribe
    • Support Faith coverage
    • Support Arts coverage
  • Replica E-Edition

    • About the E-Edition
    • Winnipeg Free Press
    • Community Review East
    • Community Review West

    Business

    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
  • Arts & Life

    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Cannabis
    • Celebrities
    • Diversions
    • Puzzles
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Your Health
    • Life & Style
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Science & Technology
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Sports

    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Auto Racing
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • Golf
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Horse Racing
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Olympics
    • Soccer
  • Opinion

    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor

    Media

    • All Media
    • Photo Galleries
    • Videos

    Homes

    • Property Listings
    • Featured News
    • Renovation and design
    • New homes
    • Resale homes
  • Canstar Community News

    • All Free Press Community Review News
    • East Edition
    • West Edition
    • Sports
    • Events
    • Contact Us
    • E-Editions
  • Coupons

    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print Coupons
    • Ripley's Aquariums Coupons
    • The Bay Coupons
    • Staples Canada Coupons
    • Altitude Sports Coupons
    • Nike Coupons
    • Tuango Coupons
    • Ebay Canada Coupons
    • Sport Chek Coupons
    • Roots Coupons
  • About Us

    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Us
    • Carrier Positions & Retailer Requests
    • FP Newspapers Inc.
    • History
    • Internships
    • Job Opportunities
    • News Café
    • Privacy Policy
    • Retail Locations
    • Staff Biographies
    • Terms and Conditions
The Free Press
Articles Read
Your Balance +tax
Day Pass Till
Day Pass
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising Contact
    • Report an Error
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
    • Staff Biographies
    • Submit a News Tip
    • Subscribe to Newsletters

    • Finding your
      information

    • Log in
    • Create Account
    • Help
    • Chat with us

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate
    • My Account
    • Manage My Subscription
    • Change Password
    • Chat with us

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate

    • Log Out
Log in Create Account Contact Us
Contact Us Manage Subscription
  • Sections
  • Local
  • Arts & Life
    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Diversions
    • Environment
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Health
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Business
    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
    • Manitoba's Top Employers
  • Sports
    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Soccer
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
  • E-Edition
  • Homes
  • Classifieds
    • All Classifieds
    • Announcements
    • Automotive
    • Careers
    • Garage Sales
    • Merchandise
    • Pets
    • Real Estate
    • Rentals
    • Services
  • Lifestyles
    • Business Hub
    • Community
    • Drink & Dine
    • Life
    • Manitoba’s Top Employers
    • Wellness
    • Whiskers & Wings
    • Sponsored Articles
  • Coupons
    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print
    • Ripley's Aquariums
    • The Bay
    • Staples Canada
    • Altitude Sports
    • Nike
    • Tuango
    • Ebay Canada
    • Sport Chek
    • Roots
  • Obituaries
  • Subscribe$1.50 for 5 months
Home Local

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

Study looks to get to bottom of breastfeeding benefits

Carol Sanders By: Carol Sanders
Posted: 7:57 PM CDT Monday, Jun. 4, 2018

  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Print
  • Email
  • Save to Read Later
<p>A large national study has shown exclusive breastfeeding in the first three months of life provides protection against infants becoming overweight at one year of age.</p>

(DREAMSTIME/TNS)

A large national study has shown exclusive breastfeeding in the first three months of life provides protection against infants becoming overweight at one year of age.

The poop from hundreds of eight-year-old Manitobans is being tested to find out how the bacteria in their gut affects their health, and if being breastfed as babies has a lasting impact.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 4/6/2018 (1493 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The poop from hundreds of eight-year-old Manitobans is being tested to find out how the bacteria in their gut affects their health, and if being breastfed as babies has a lasting impact.

It's part of a larger national study that has already shown exclusive breastfeeding in the first three months of life provides more protection against an infant becoming overweight at one year of age than either partial breastfeeding or formula feeding.

<p>Study co-author Dr. Meghan Azad, a researcher at the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba.</p>

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES

Study co-author Dr. Meghan Azad, a researcher at the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba.

The research published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics -- a peer-reviewed, American Medical Association journal -- found a 63 per cent increased risk of becoming overweight among infants who were partially (versus exclusively) breastfed at three months of age, and a 102 per cent increased risk among exclusively formula-fed infants.

"Breastfeeding is one of the most influential factors in shaping the infant gut microbiome" -- the community of micro-organisms or bacteria that live in the human digestive tract -- says co-author Meghan Azad, a researcher at the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba.

It was one of the largest infant-microbiome studies in the world, identifying more than 900 types of bacteria from 2.6-million DNA sequences generated from more than 1,000 infants, researchers said in a news release.

They found breastfed infants supplemented with formula were at increased risk for becoming overweight at one year of age, and had a different microbiota composition than exclusively breastfed infants. Whereas breastfed infants supplemented with complementary foods only and no formula were similar to exclusively breastfed infants with no increased risk. An infant’s gut microbiome was different in formula-fed babies, said Azad.

"In a normal, healthy breastfed baby, usually the dominant bacteria is bifidobacteria," she said. In formula-fed babies it is a bacteria called lachnospiracae, which has been associated with infants being overweight, she said.

"There is quite a lot of data that shows being overweight (as a baby) tracks later into childhood and adulthood," and being overweight has been linked to health concerns, said Azad. Breast milk helps to prevent childhood infections, obesity, and asthma, and has many health benefits, she said.

"We know know how important it is in setting the stage in life for a healthy trajectory," said Azad, research chair in developmental origins of chronic disease at the University of Manitoba. "We've come to appreciate how important microbiome is."

The study included 1,087 babies and moms participating in the Allergy, Genes and Environment Network's CHILD Study. Researchers studied diaper biome samples from the infants, but stopped in later years when they were no longer in diapers.

The Free Press | Newsletter

Want to get a head start on your day?

Get the day’s breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning.

Sign up for Head Start
Sign Up

"The logistics of getting kids to poop on demand" delayed checking the children's microbiome again until they had turned eight last fall, said Azad.

The national birth cohort CHILD study collects a wide range of health, lifestyle and environmental exposure information from nearly 3,500 families and children from pregnancy to school age.

Participants are in Vancouver, Toronto, Edmonton and Manitoba, with 850 in Winnipeg and 150 in the Morden-Winkler area -- the only rural component of the nationwide, said Azad, and one that might offer a hint as to why children in urban areas are more prone to allergies.

"Kids in rural areas and farms have lower rates of allergy," Azad said. Researchers hope to keep following the children and learn more about the makeup of their microbiome and beyond, she said.

"We can ask more sophisticated questions."

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca

Carol Sanders

Carol Sanders
Legislature reporter

After 20 years of reporting on the growing diversity of people calling Manitoba home, Carol moved to the legislature bureau in early 2020.

   Read full biography

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

  • Report Error
  • Submit a Tip
  • Refund
  • The Free Press is certified by

The Winnipeg Free Press invites you to share your opinion on this story in a letter to the editor. A selection of letters to the editor are published daily.

To submit a letter:
• fill out the form on this page, or
• email letters@freepress.mb.ca, or
• mail Letters to the Editor, 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R2X 3B6.

Letters must include the writer’s full name, address, and a daytime phone number. Letters are edited for length and clarity.

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

Top