Preventing obesity begins in hospitals

"Childhood obesity is an epidemic. In the US, 1 preschooler in 5 is at least overweight, and half of these are obese. Breastfeeding helps protect against childhood obesity. A baby's risk of becoming an overweight child goes down with each month of breastfeeding. In the US, most babies start breastfeeding, but within the first week, half have already been given formula, and by 9 months, only 31% of babies are breastfeeding at all. Hospitals can either help or hinder mothers and babies as they begin to breastfeed. The Baby- Friendly Hospital Initiative describes Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding that have been shown to increase breastfeeding rates by providing support to mothers. Unfortunately, most US hospitals do not fully support breastfeeding; they should do more to make sure mothers can start and continue breastfeeding.." - p. 1Fact sheet released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Office of Surveillance, Epidemiology and Laboratory Services (OSELS) in association with: Vital signs: preventing obesity begins in hospitals published: MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report ; v. 60, early release, August 2, 2011, p. 1-6."CD225478B.""August 2011.""Publication date: 08/02/2011."Title from title screen (viewed August 2, 2011).Introduction -- Latest findings -- Who's at risk? -- U.S. state information -- What can be done -- Related links -- Social mediaMode of access: World Wide WebText document (PDF)