A study by Harvard Medical School researchers says that breast-feeding does not make a difference when it comes to obesity levels later in life.
Health agencies including the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Paediatrics encourage women to breast-feed their babies for at least six months, mostly because many studies show it leads to healthier babies.
It also reduces the risk of childhood obesity.
But the effects do not appear to extend into adulthood, according to the study.
Karin Michels and colleagues at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital studied 35,000 nurses working in the United States over a 12-year period from 1989 to 2001. Their mothers were asked to report on their breast-feeding habits.
When adjusted for socio-economic factors, the study found breast-feeding had no significant effect on the body mass index (BMI) of the nurses in adulthood. BMI is calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared.
Breast-feeding for more than 6 months does appear to have a benefit in children. The study found these kids had a leaner body shape at age 5, but this benefit did not extend into adolescence or adulthood.
The researchers said that while breast-feeding promotes the health of mother and child, it is not likely to play an important role in controlling the obesity epidemic.
The results were published in the International Journal of Obesity.
