According to results of a new study, children who gain a lot of weight in the first year of life may be at increased risk of type 1 diabetes. To summarize:

• The study included 91 children aged 4 to 15 with type 1 diabetes, 125 of their siblings, and more than 2,000 healthy Dutch children.

• The researchers analyzed their past health records and found that children who became diabetic tended to gain more weight by the age of 1 than their siblings or other children.

• The diabetic children and their healthy siblings also tended to be taller between the ages of 1 and 3 compared with children in the general population.

• The investigators also found the children with diabetes who were heavier and taller at a young age tended to have a specific type of autoantibody, which is antibody that mistakenly recognizes an enzyme normally found in the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system mistakenly destroys the pancreatic cells that produce insulin. As a result, blood glucose levels rise to dangerous levels, resulting in a life-long dependence on insulin injections for survival. The disease is most commonly diagnosed in children or young adults, and therefore is often referred to as Juvenille diabetes, despite the fact that it can occur at any age.

The authors believe that increased growth in infancy, which is associated with a higher insulin secretion, could lead to more rapid decay of insulin-producing cells if the antibodies develop.

The Lancet 2000;356:655-656.

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

This study is important for a number of reasons. Bottle-fed babies tend to grow faster. Faster and bigger is not necessarily better, especially when it means increasing the risk for one of the most devastating long-term chronic illnesses around--diabetes. Additionally, drinking milk and consuming grains that distort the carbohydrate/protein/fat ratios will contribute to an accelerated growth rate. This distortion will also increase more immediate problems like ADHD (attention deficit disorder). One of the largest misconceptions I find that contribute to this problem is the inclusion of milk and grains (gluten and casein) into a child's diet. Most children benefit from avoiding these foods. For the most part, children should follow the diet I outline for adults once they wean off the breast. The only caution is that if they are below their ideal body weight, healthy grains need to be added to maintain optimal weight. Milk consumption has also been linked to an increased incidence of type 1 diabetes, and this is just one more reason on a very long list of why you may want to stay away from dairy. In addition to the problems with pasteurized milk, today we have the additional problem of cows being injected with genetically engineered growth hormones to make them produce more milk. Unfortunately, this causes increased levels of Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) in the milk, which could have some physiological effects on people, particularly children. Related Articles: Milk Increases Risk of Type 1 Diabetes Cows' Milk, Diabetes Connection Bolstered INGESTION OF COW'S MILK IN EARLY INFANCY MAY LEAD TO DIABETES No Benefit Seen In Routine Growth Monitoring Of Children