Seeing this article proves to me the importance of staying away from anti-biotics, and any drug that destroys your gut bacteria!  In the rare occasion a child might need an anti-biotic, make sure you restore the gut with a good probiotic!

For everyone who thinks fat people are fat because they've made bad choices their whole life, you are all completely right.  However, bad choices were only made because of government and medical recommendation.  Fat people are always dieting, always trying to lose weight, just in the wrong way, which then makes it worse and makes it even harder.  I started off as a slightly pudgy kid and ended up an obese adult even though my mom always followed doctors orders, in our house we only had diet sodas, crackers, lean fish and chicken breast, and all fat free everything else.  Never butter.  They even took me to dieticians several times who would then put me on 800 calorie a day, high carb, no fat diets and of course I would lose weight, but then gain it all back and plus some.  Then as an adult I still struggled to lose weight on these horrible diets, which only made me get fatter and fatter.  So, as a child, teenager, and adult, was it really my fault that I was fat??  Eventually, when I stopped listening to doctors and did my own diet, higher cal, higher fat, low carb, I quickly dropped 100+ lbs and have kept it off for years.  I still have some weight to lose and am doing  it on a candida diet (and exercise of course.)  

So fat people are fat because government and doctors keep them fat by giving horrible advice which leads them to make bad choices.  

As far as my 11 month old baby goes, he is on a raw milk formula, eats avocados, sweet potatoes and rice (occasionally,) fruit, some meat and chicken, raw cream, butter, olive oil, egg yolks, liver,  and takes a great probiotic.  I will always keep him on a low carb, high fat, all natural diet so he won't end up the way I did.  Unfortunately, I noticed most parents start their babies on grains and juices and sugary foods, but are terrified of giving butter and then switch them to pasteurized fat free milk at 2 years old (doctor recommendation.)  So of course there are so many obese children.  

There is a difference between being fat and being obese,  Most people expect babies to be "chunky" because they know they are going to be doing a lot of growing in the next 2 years and need the energy.  But this was a generally good article, Probiotics are important, but you need them in the proper balance.

Mary

I breast fed all three of my babies and they all got really cute and fat!!  Of course, they did all slim down after age 2.  This article shows again how important pro-biotics are for all around health.

I took a probiotic supplement, before during and between both pregnancies and while I was breastfeeding. (I have a two and a half year old, and I am 6 months pregnant with my second).  I have not taken antibiotics for at least five years.

My oldest breastfed exclusively until 18 months, then tapered until he was two (and yes, I did  promptly get pregnant thereafter).   He is just the healthiest kid.  He has never been sick!  Not a single cold, flu or ear infection!  I marvel at how blessed we are when I see parents who have chronically ill children.

I do attribute my child's health to the presence of healthy bacteria in both of our bodies protecting our respective immune systems (in addition to a generally healthy lifestyle, we limit our exposure to toxic chemicals in our home, and try to avoid hormones, excitotoxins and other super baddies.  We aren't perfect, but do our best to be diligent).

curious 26, I would say to you even if that were ALL true;people don`t care how much you know,until they know how much you care. Have a little compassion,most obesity is  because of several issues,not just one.

I also want to add that I have no doubt that vaccines and antibiotics play a huge role in childhood obesity.  Antibiotics for obvious reasons in this article dealing with gut flora.  Vaccines because they suppress the immune system and also, many vaccines harm the pancreas which leads to insulin resistance and then to diabetes, which leads to obesity.  Just my theory.

Many people don't know that C-sections contribute to the problem.  When the baby does not pass through the birth canal, swallowing the normal bacteria that are supposed to first colonize the gut, the baby ends up with hospital bacteria colonizing the gut.  This is even more of a problem if the mother also does not breastfeed the baby.  Sadly, without the proper gut bacteria, these new babies are at greater risk of developing asthma and allergies because of the dysregulation of the immune system.  To complicate the situation, infants need Lactobacillus species that produce L(+)-lactic acid because their GI tract isn't fully mature at birth and can't metabolize the D(-) isomer of lactic acid produced by many lactobacilli.  Examples of the proper species for babies are:  L. rhamnosus, L. casei, L. paracasei, and L. salivarius.  Beneficial bifidobacterium species for infants are: B. breve, B. infantis, B. bifidum, and B. longum.  Obstetricians in our area of the country have actually been offering C-sections for the mother's (and hospital's) convenience in planning births.  Apparently they are unaware of the fact that they may be seriously compromising the immune function and general health of a whole generation right from birth, setting them up for obesity and other problems from the start.  This is not to mention the ever-expanding vaccine regimen assault by pediatricians.

I have been fighting a "gut bacteria" problem for a few years. YES it's real for all you doubters out there. I was lucky enough to find a great Nurse Practicianer who recognized the problem. I lived on anti-biotics as a child for asthma and then on birth control for years. And a not so healthy diet of too much sugar and grains as most of us do as kids. Now I am retraining my mind about how to my body those things are like poison.

The thing is not enough good bacteria and too much bad can lead to yeast over growth in your gut and then you feel like a peice of bread rising from the middle. It's no fun and not anything I brought on by overeating or not exercising like some people believe. A yeast over growth makes it very difficult or impossible to loose weight and can be a life long struggle.

So for those doubters who look at this as just another excuse - don't ! It's easy to look at others and assume you know why they look the way they do. Thats the problem with this world. You need to look at why you feel the need to judge them because they don't look like you.

Back to the importantance of articles like this because I could not find a "regular" doctor to help me or that would even recognize candida (yeast over growth) as a medical issue. Now I'm on the way to a healthier life with a better diet, probiotics, and yes.. garlic. My advise is if you suspect this is your problem, don't wait. Get healthy !!

There are a ton more factors than just this, but none the less is interesting. I say stay away from the gerber stuff, bunch of HFCS and not much else.