Breastfeeding’s role in controlling obesity is weakened
Breastfeeding is no magic bullet against obesity, according to research that contradicts previously held beliefs about the scope of human milk’s capability. “There’s a lot of other evidence out there to continue to support breast-feeding,” says the study’s lead author Dr. Richard Martin, a professor of clinical epidemiology at the University of Bristol in the U.K. “But in terms of breastfeeding reducing obesity, it’s unlikely to be effective.” Martin worked with colleagues at Harvard University and Ď㽶ĘÓƵ in Montreal to assess 15,000 mothers in Belarus. The location was intentional — when the study began in 1996, breastfeeding was not a popular practice among Belarusian mothers…The latest report, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) marks the first release of data from the 11 ½-year old participants. Mirroring the earlier results, the researchers found no changes in weight and body fat between those who were breast-fed and those who weren’t. About 15% of the children in both groups were overweight, and 5% were considered obese.