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Study: Breast-Feeding Won’t Deter Obesity

Breastfeeding and Later Obesity

Breastfeeding does not prevent obesity

Breastfeeding won’t prevent babies becoming overweight adults: study

Researchers at Harvard University investigated the association between infant feeding and obesity in 35,526 particpants in the Nurses’ Health Study II. Participants were followed prospectively from 1989 to 2001. Participants reported body shape at age 5 and 10, weight at age 18, current weight between 1989 and 2001, and height. Mothers of participants provided information by mailed questionaires on the duration of breast- and bottle-feeding, as well as the type of milk or milk substitute in the bottle.

Results of the study are reported in the International Journal of Obesity. Exclusive breastfeeding for more than 6 months was associated with leaner body shape at age 5 compared to women who were not breastfed or were breastfed for less than 1 week, but the association did not persist during adolescence or adulthood. In other words, breastfeeding may protect infants and young children from being overweight or obese, but not older children or adults.

It’s important to note that the infant feeding data as well as data on body shape and weight at age 5, 10 and 18 were collected retrospectively i.e. after the fact.
But let’s assume that the data are correct and exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months does not reduce the risk for overweight and obesity in older children and adults. Such a conclusion does not diminish the benefits of breastfeeding - physical, emotional, social, and economic. One would be considered overly optimisic at the very least to think that a complex problem, like overweight and obesity has a simple solution.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 12.5 milllion children between ages of 2 and 19 are overweight or obese. Additionally, diseases previously seen only in adults, including type 2 diabetes, are now being diagnosed in children. Based on data from the Nurses’ Health Study II it would appear that even breastfeeding’s benefits can’t make up for chronic, widespread, and unhealthy habits such as eating too much and exercising too little.