Sugars found in infant formulas are not listed as an ingredient on packaging.

This is disturbing news for parents, pediatricians and anyone concerned about childhood obesity.

While “breast is best”, babies who do receive formula are at risk for developing a super sweet tooth.

Added sugars, of the wrong kind, contribute to creating fat cells in the body which never go away.

The more fat cells developed the tougher it is to maintain healthy weight.

Among the results, Enfamil Premium and Parent’s Choice Premium Infant formulas had the highest sugar content at 13.5 and 12.4 grams of lactose per serving. Lactose is what scientists call the best type of sugar and it’s the kind found in breast milk.

Three formulas tested low for any sugar: Gerber Good Start, Similac Advance Complete, and Enfamil Pro-Sobee.

But two, both made by Similac, did contain other added sugars. Similac Advance Organic Complete Nutrition contained one of the sweetest kind of sugars, sucrose, measuring in at 3.5 grams per serving. That’s roughly the equivalent of one teaspoon of sugar for every five ounces.

In Europe, concern over childhood obesity led to a ban on sucrose in baby formula. Dozens of countries do not allow the kind of sugar that was found in those two brands.

Breast feeding has become a heated and divisive topic lately and, quite frankly, the messages are confusing.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all mothers breastfeed for a full year or longer if the mother is willing and able.

Mothers are getting mixed messages and little support for their parenting decisions.

Dr. Bill Sears, the father of a child-rearing philosophy called attachment parenting and author of the well-known parenting manual, The Baby Book, is credited with redefining motherhood.

It turns out that he and his wife Martha had written a lot of earlier books about attachment parenting before The Baby Book, including one with an evangelical approach. I also came across a book the Searses wrote in 1982 based on another book called The Continuum Concept, which I traced back to a college dropout who had become fascinated by child care in the Venezuelan jungle. “We read the book and thought, Well, this is neat,” says Sears.

Where do you weigh in on the debate?

The American Academy of Pediatrics is suggesting that women should breast feed exclusively for the first year of a child’s life.

Adding food as the baby requires it but not offering formula or juices.

Breast milk is the best way to start off life and it offers great benefits to the mother, as well.

The health benefits of breast-feeding include protection against respiratory illness, ear infections, gastrointestinal diseases, asthma and the skin condition eczema.

Breast-fed infants are more than one-third less likely to die of sudden infant death syndrome and are 15 to 30 percent less likely to become obese teens and adults, according to the AAP.

Although researchers hesitate to say it there is something to be said about the health benefits of breast milk.

The Spanish study found that higher amounts of breast-feeding among all milk consumed during children’s first 14 months was associated with significantly higher mental scores compared to children who breast-fed less. Researchers recruited women during their first trimester of pregnancy, measured fatty acids in their colostrum after childbirth, and assessed mental development of more than 500 children at about 14 months of age.

Political correctness, and corporate self interest need to take a back seat to women’s and infant’s health and wellness.