Breast-Feeding May Lower Risk for Maternal Obesity in Later Life

Given the number of obesity-related diseases, identifying behaviors that lower risk for obesity is particularly important. U.K. researchers studied 740,628 eligible participants in the Million Women Study (mean age, 58) who provided information on childbearing, lactation, and height and weight. On average, participants each had two children; among the 70% who breast-fed, mean duration of lactation was 3.1 months per child.

In models adjusted for factors such as age, socioeconomic group, smoking status, physical activity, and parity, mean body-mass index (BMI) was significantly higher in mothers who had not breast-fed than in those who had. At every parity level, mean BMI was lower with longer duration of breast-feeding. The reduction in BMI …