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Are breastfed children more intelligent?
08/Oct/2006: A study published in the British Medical Journal says that breastfed children are more intelligent than the bottle-fed ones, but the content of the milk they receive, has nothing to do with their intelligence.
Scientists have been trying to establish a correlation between breastfeeding and child’s intelligence, for decades now, but this study has shown that genetic and environmental factors play a more vital role in determining a child’s intelligence than breastfeeding.
After analyzing data from more than 5,000 children and 3,000 mothers in the U.S, researchers found that mothers who breastfeed their children tend to be more intelligent. Jeff Dar, one of the authors of the study, said that this fact, which emerged in the study, proved that factors other than breastfeeding play an important role in determining intelligence. However, the findings of this study may not end the debate about the relationship between breastfeeding and intelligence.
Mike Woolridge, a senior lecturer in infant feeding at the University of Leeds, strongly believes that breastfeeding builds a better, more balanced brain in terms of its chemical composition, which might ultimately influence the performance of the brain. He said that many other studies have shown a link between breastfeeding and intelligence, by considering the impact of breastfeeding over and above the other variables.
Researchers involved in this study found that children who were breastfed fared well in IQ tests, because their mothers were more intelligent, better educated and were able to provide a more conducive home environment.
Part of the research methodology included comparing siblings, for whom the feeding habits differed. Dar said that comparing two members of a same family is a better way of getting results that are less affected by the family background and the results they got were identical to the earlier ones – the breastfed children were no more intelligent than bottle-fed ones.
Dar added that even though his team was not able to establish any clear links between breastfeeding and intelligence, breastfeeding is definitely a smarter option to the mothers, because it builds a stronger bond between the mother and the child and reduces the risk of respiratory diseases and allergies. The findings of the study are available in the British Medical Journal’s website.
More Info
http://www.breastfit.com
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