Weight Watchers Magazine

[JBird]

I was reading it last night, and they have an article about how it can be difficult for moms to lose weight bc of baby's demanding schedules. It showed a pic of a mom feeding an older baby a bottle. I am going to write a letter to the editor to ask why they needed to show a baby having a bottle
and to inform them that breastfeeding not only helps the mom lose baby
weight but protects baby from obesity later in life. They even had an
article about letting baby self feed so they can regulate how much
they eat, but still no mention of breastfeeding (and the fact that breastfed babies are better at self regulating food intake than formula fed babies). Thought I'd put the word out in case anyone else wants to write a letter to the editor.

Jennifer

[frontierpsych]

Ooh, glad you caught that! Hopefully they will really take that into consideration and maybe even write an article on it!

[tash11]

but if you protect the baby from obesity latter in life then ww will loose customers in the future.

[NaomiLorelie]

Originally Posted by tash11

but if you protect the baby from obesity latter in life then ww will loose customers in the future.

I was thinking the same thing myself.

[annettemarie]

That is a fabulous point to write a letter about, and I hope they run with it!

[My4Boys]

I always felt WW to be breastfeeding friendly because they actually have a weight loss plan for breastfeeding moms. A lot of other weight loss buisnesses won't take you if you are breastfeeding.

[Meredith&Alexander]

I work part-time as a WW leader, and they do have an awesome nursing mom's weight loss program. But some of the other stuff they do is frankly clueless.

I wish they would be more actively BF-supportive, and train their staff better, but WW is essentially a very mainstream organization, from top to bottom. They're aiming to reach your average person with weight to lose, and we ain't it, ladies.

[LinzluvsGJ]

That's odd. I used their nursing plan to lose weight after I had Isabelle (lost close to 40 pounds thankyouverymuch ). I wouldn't have expected that in their magazine.

[JBird]

Here's my letter:

Dear Editor,

I am writing in regards to the September/October issue. On page 15 in the article, "Doing It All", you display a picture of a child bottle feeding when discussing that moms who juggle more tasks tend to be slimmer. Why not a picture of a breastfeeding mother and child? There are many working moms who juggle many tasks including breastfeeding. Juggling tasks and breastfeeding are not mutually exclusive - many moms pump their milk.

It is important to note that clinical research shows that breastfeeding helps protect children from obesity well into adulthood (as well as providing many other health benefits). It is also well known that breastfeeding moms lose baby weight faster than moms who formula-feed because nursing burns calories. While a fairly high percentage of moms attempt breastfeeding, many do not continue breastfeeding per the American Academy of Pediatric's recommendations. Constant images of bottlefed babies do not encourage continued breastfeeding.

Also on page 66 in the article "Bringing Up Baby", you mention that children should self feed so that they do not overeat. However, it is important to mention that breastfed babies are often better able to control the amounts of food they eat than formula fed babies. This ability to self-regulate food intake, which starts in infancy for breastfed children, continues into adulthood.

While I know that Weight Watchers is not a breastfeeding organization, it is irresponsible to beat around the bush on these issues. I am disappointed that you include so many other pieces of clinical information on weight loss, but you do not include any on breastfeeding. Please inform mothers (and encourage them) that breastfeeding is healthy for baby and the mother in regards to obesity and weight loss. It is not all about just being able to find a sitter, so moms can workout at the gym (pp 15).

Thank you!

Jennifer

[siobhang]

I know that WW has "nursing mom" points, so obviously they have nursing moms as customers.