Breastfeeding 'linked to higher IQ'
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Re: Breastfeeding 'linked to higher IQ'
#2While the article does acknowledge that the study only shows correlation and not causation, it doesn't suggest what seems to me the most intuitively obvious alternative hypothesis.
We know that increased rates of mental stimuli and social interaction are beneficial to a growing brain. Perhaps breastfeeding correlates with parents that have more free time to interact with their child.
Re: Breastfeeding 'linked to higher IQ'
#3While the article does acknowledge that the study only shows correlation and not causation, it doesn't suggest what seems to me the most intuitively obvious alternative hypothesis. We know that increased rates of mental stimuli and social interaction are beneficial to a growing brain. Perhaps breastfeeding correlates with parents that have more free time to interact with their child.
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Re: Breastfeeding 'linked to higher IQ'
#4Maybe but it certainly is linked to epic levels of smugness and superiority complexes on the part of the parents and healthcare system. At least here in the UK.
My oldest is quite intelligent. We've had "I bet she was breast fed" more times than I can count. The reply is "no, it's a combination of genetics and nurture"...
Re: Breastfeeding 'linked to higher IQ'
#5Maybe but it certainly is linked to epic levels of smugness and superiority complexes on the part of the parents and healthcare system. At least here in the UK. My oldest is quite intelligent. We've had "I bet she was breast fed" more times than I can count. The reply is "no, it's a combination of genetics and nurture"...
Even the most generous estimates are that breastfeeding adds a few IQ points. Definitely not noticeable for an individual.
However, at the population level, which is what the healthcare system is dealing with, that's a huge deal. Imagine if the average IQ of the entire population were shifted up by several points.
Re: Breastfeeding 'linked to higher IQ'
#6I definitely take studies like this with a grain of salt, though I do find them interesting. This one does appear to be from a sufficiently large sample size.
Besides this, though, I find it interesting that humans feel they can sufficiently reverse engineer breast milk to replicate the health benefits. Not saying at all that eventually this won't be possible or probable.
But the "original formula" has gone through at least tens of millions if not hundreds of millions of years of evolution. From this respect I'm in complete awe that we have this nature-given tool, and astonished that more humans don't do this for their children.
Re: Breastfeeding 'linked to higher IQ'
#7While the article does acknowledge that the study only shows correlation and not causation, it doesn't suggest what seems to me the most intuitively obvious alternative hypothesis. We know that increased rates of mental stimuli and social interaction are beneficial to a growing brain. Perhaps breastfeeding correlates with parents that have more free time to interact with their child.
Researchers have considered your hypothesis. There have been many attempts to eliminate confounding variables in these studies (this doesn't mean that they were necessarily successful in doing so, but they did think about it). Often they attempt to control for differences in parenting styles, which should cover how much time they spend interacting with their child.
Also until 6-10 months, babies can't hold their own bottles, so someone is probably still interacting with them (unless you prop up the bottle and leave the baby alone, which is possible but not recommended).
Re: Breastfeeding 'linked to higher IQ'
#8I definitely take studies like this with a grain of salt, though I do find them interesting. This one does appear to be from a sufficiently large sample size. Besides this, though, I find it interesting that humans feel they can sufficiently reverse engineer breast milk to replicate the health benefits. Not saying at all that eventually this won't be possible or probable. But the "original formula" has gone through a…
> sufficiently reverse engineer breast milk to replicate the health benefits
...In much the same way a BigMac and Coke replicates food.
Re: Breastfeeding 'linked to higher IQ'
#9Maybe but it certainly is linked to epic levels of smugness and superiority complexes on the part of the parents and healthcare system. At least here in the UK. My oldest is quite intelligent. We've had "I bet she was breast fed" more times than I can count. The reply is "no, it's a combination of genetics and nurture"...
Now imagine those "genetics and nurture" AND breast feeding..
Re: Breastfeeding 'linked to higher IQ'
#10I definitely take studies like this with a grain of salt, though I do find them interesting. This one does appear to be from a sufficiently large sample size. Besides this, though, I find it interesting that humans feel they can sufficiently reverse engineer breast milk to replicate the health benefits. Not saying at all that eventually this won't be possible or probable. But the "original formula" has gone through a…
> I definitely take studies like this with a grain of salt
as everybody should, the problem is the media publishing these stories know that the only thing people read are the headlines.
> Experts say the results, while not conclusive ...
The article says one thing and its opposite. The goal here isn't to inform but to distract. Absolutely no conclusion can be made out of reading this article.