FROM ANOTHER ANGLE: MODERN MECHANISMS OF EATING BEHAVIOR REGULATION IN CHILDREN BEING BREASTFED DURING THE FIRST MONTHS OF LIFE

Abstract

Breastfeeding is crucial for the health of children. Among other benefits, breastfed infants have a lower risk of eating disorders at an early childhood. The protective effect is associated with the level “hormone - regulator level of appetite and energy balance” - leptin. The purpose of the work was evaluate the eating behavior of infants who are in breast -fed with different levels of leptin in the mother’s milk. Materials and Methods: The leptin level in breast milk was determined in 309 samples three times (at 14th day, 1st month and 3rd month) by enzyme -linked immunosorbent assay using the Human Leptin DuoSet kit (R & D Systems, USA), which was optimized for measuring leptin in breast milk. The child’s breastfeeding behavior was assessed with the BEBQ questionnaire (The Baby Eating Behavior Questionnaire in the Gemini birth cohort, Clare H. Llewellyn et al., London, 2011) Daily biorhythms of children (the duration and severity of night and day crying and fuss behavior) were studied based on parent’s diary data. (Parental diary of infant cry and fuss behavior R.G. Barr et al., Canada, 1988). Results: We have studied the relationship between the level of breast milk hormone - leptin, which is a regulator of appetite and energy balance, and the criteria for the formation of eating behavior of breastfed children. In the group of children who received milk from mothers with an increased leptin content, better mood was more often noted, less prolonged periods of crying, fuss behavior (compared with children whose mothers have significantly lower levels of leptin in BM). Conclusions: Therefore, it can be assumed that the hormone leptin is responsible for the degree of saturation of the child, regulates the breastfeeding number and associated with the duration of feeding and the behavior of the child after feeding during the day.