Breastfeeding boosts baby’s IQ

12 November, 2007

Here is once more very good reason for mothers to breastfed their infants. A gene that is believed to give breastfed children higher intelligence quotient (IQ) has been identified.

Researchers have found that children with a particular version of the gene performed significantly better in IQ tests if they had been breastfed as infants.

On an average, breastfeeding adds 7 extra points to their IQ scores, even after allowing for different social backgrounds.

For the study, researchers from the United States, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand looked at over 3,000 breastfed infants in the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

They found that children who possessed the FADS2 gene had an average IQ that was 6.8 points higher than babies without the gene. (The FADS2 gene is very much involved in the way the body processes fatty acids in the diet. And, fatty acids such as DHA have been shown to improve IQ in infants).

In all, 90% of the children studied had at least one copy of the FADS2 gene and showed an increase in IQ if breastfed.

Scientists studied the FADS2 gene since it produces an enzyme found in breast milk, which also has been associated with higher IQs.

The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, published from the United States, brought to light that IQ scores of the 10% of babies that did not have the FADS2 gene were not influenced by breastfeeding.

Earlier research had shown that long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) accumulate in the brain during the first months after birth. They are present in human breast milk, but not in cow’s milk. (PUFAs began to be added to infant foods recently.)

Scientists believe that PUFAs are crucial to brain development in childhood because they are necessary for the efficient transmission of nerve messages and also help promote the growth of nerve fibers.

Laboratory studies on rodents and primates that were fed supplemental fatty acids have shown improved abilities in tests of learning, memory, and problem-solving.

Terrie Moffitt, a professor of psychological and brain sciences at Duke University and King’s College in London, and co-author of the study, said, “Our findings take an end-run around those arguments by showing the physiological mechanism that accounts for the difference.”