Pre- and postnatal influences on metabolism and weight

According to research done by Aaltonen et al, the feeding pattern during pregnancy and the kind of infant food are both factors in metabolic health at age 6 months. Children of mothers who received prenatal food counseling and probiotic supplements and children who were breastfed showed better metabolic health when compared to children of mothers who did not receive the extras during pregnancy and formula fed infants. A healthy metabolism ensures good food processing and a balance between energy intake and use. This is why metabolism is a factor in weight gain. Many researchers claim that breastfeeding is an important factor in later overweight issues. Indeed, infant feeding and health of weight are strongly connected, but other factors play important roles as well, like maternal and paternal weight, parental smoking, birth weight and rapid weight gain in the early stages of infancy, socio-economic characteristics of the family, family size, and later on the amount of waking time spent in sedentary activity. Next to infant feeding the dietary habits of the family are an important factor, Butte in his study, however, concludes that infant feeding practices may form a solid basis for futher positive factors.
Aaltonen J,  Ojala T, Laitinen K, Poussa T, Ozanne S, Isolauri E: Impact of maternal diet during pregnancy and breastfeeding on infant metabolic programming: a prospective randomized controlled study. Eur J Clin Nutr 2011, 65(1):10-19
Butte NF: Impact of Infant Feeding Practices on Childhood Obesity J. Nutr. February 2009 139(2):412S-416S