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New research: Breastfeeding for a year (or longer) could protect against adult obesity
QUICK SUMMARY: A new study finds that infants breastfed for a year or longer could be protected against obesity as adults. In an animal study, (which modelled breastfeeding for a year or longer for human babies), infants who were fed their mother’s milk for a longer period of time didn’t put on weight when they grew up — even if they ate a high-fat diet.
One of my personal bugbears is referring to “extended breastfeeding” or “prolonged breastfeeding” if a mother chooses to breastfeed for a year or longer.
This makes it sound as though breastfeeding for a year or longer is somehow not the “norm”, at least in Western societies.
In many other cultures, it is not unusual to breastfeed a child for two or more years. Indeed, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends “introduction of nutritionally-adequate and safe complementary (solid) foods at 6 months together with continued breastfeeding up to 2 years of age or beyond”
There are many reasons to breastfeed for a year or longer; for nutrition, for the baby’s immune system, for convenience, comfort and for the general health and wellbeing of mother and baby.
Here’s another great reason to breastfeed for a year or longer. It could help protect…
