| ■ Breastfeeding Won't Reduce Risk of Being Overweight | 07.04.27 |
| Breast feeding does not prevent children from becoming overweight as adults, according to a Harvard Medical School study that contradicts information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) The study looked at nearly 14,500 women who were breast-fed as infants and about 21,000 women who were not breast-fed, the Associated Press reported. Women who were breast-fed for at least a week were about as likely to be overweight or obese as women who were bottle-fed. Women who had been breast-fed for more than nine months were about as likely to be overweight or obese as women who'd been breast-fed for less than a week. While this study included only women, the researchers said they believe the results also apply to men. This is the largest study to date to look at the link between breast feeding and adult weight, the AP reported. "I'm the first to say breast-feeding is good. But I don't think it's the solution to reducing childhood or adult obesity," said study lead author Karin Michels. The CDC says breast feeding is one way of reducing excess weight in childhood. Many previous studies have found an association between breast feeding and lower rates of childhood obesity, Larry Grummer-Strawn, chief of the CDC's maternal and child nutrition branch, told the AP. |