Buzz
Does consuming powdered milk result in weight gain?
Powdered milk is expensive, yet many breastfeeding mothers prioritize buying it for their children, hoping for effective weight gain. As it's rich in protein, fat, and provides high energy, nutritionists recommend adding powdered milk to a child's daily diet as a supplement. This helps address malnutrition, compensating for lacking energy and nutrients, ultimately promoting healthy weight gain and improved appetite.
However, each child's taste and ability to absorb nutrients from powdered milk vary, leading to no definitive confirmation that powdered milk guarantees weight gain. Furthermore, while powdered milk is protein-rich, it cannot replace breast milk, formula milk, or the protein obtained from daily meat and fish intake. Overusing powdered milk can lead to nutritional imbalances, resulting in deficiencies such as iron and zinc deficiencies, vitamin A deficiency leading to dry eyes, and other ailments in the long term.
Does consuming powdered milk lead to obesity?
Concerns about consuming powdered milk often revolve around its high fat content, ranging from 70% to 90%, leading many to worry that children might become overweight or obese if they consume too much powdered milk.
Does consuming powdered milk contribute to increased height?
In addition to high fat, energy, and protein content, powdered milk also contains high levels of calcium. This prompts many nutrition experts to recommend its addition to children's supplementary meals to promote good height growth. However, mothers should accurately assess their child's nutritional status to determine if there's a calcium deficiency rather than relying solely on visual cues such as being shorter than classmates to assume their child is short and needs to increase height by consuming powdered milk.
How should one consume powdered milk correctly to promote weight gain and height increase in children?
No matter how beneficial it may seem, powdered milk should only be considered a snack for children to supplement energy, not a substitute for breast milk or daily meals. According to nutrition experts, children should only consume powdered milk from 10 months onwards, when their digestive system has matured enough to efficiently digest the fats, proteins, and other nutrients in powdered milk.
Regarding the ideal timing for consuming powdered milk, mothers should offer it to children when they are hungry, about 2 hours before main meals like breakfast and lunch. Avoid giving it to children before main meals as it may cause them to lose their appetite for rice and become disinterested in eating. Similarly, avoid giving it to children in the evening as it may make them feel bloated, hinder digestion, and disrupt sleep.
Conclusion: In summary, maternal powdered milk should only be regarded as a snack for children and cannot replace main meals or breast milk. Therefore, it should not be overly glorified or seen as a miraculous solution for helping children gain weight and height. From a somewhat scientific perspective, if mothers use powdered milk correctly for their children, it can indeed contribute to ideal weight and height. However, overuse or improper usage can be harmful. Moreover, the high cost of powdered milk in the market and the fact that not all children enjoy consuming it should be taken into consideration. Mothers should carefully weigh these factors and respect their child's preferences, rather than forcing them to consume it for personal reasons.
