Breast-feeding keeps women thinner, even decades later

While breast-feeding is advised partly as a way to help new mothers lose weight, it may help keep their weight down even decades later, a new study from Britain suggests.

Researchers found that women who had children tended to have higher body mass indexes later in life than did women with no children; however, the researchers were able to associate every six months of breast-feeding  with a 0.22 drop in BMIs among the women in their 50s and early 60s.

This translates to a 1 percent drop in BMIs for every six months of breast-feeding, the researchers said.

"We already know breast-feeding is best for babies, and this study adds to a growing body of evidence that the benefits extend to the mother as well, even 30 years after she’s given birth," said study researcher Dr. Kirsty Bobrow, a researcher at the University of Oxford.

Producing breast milk requires energy, often burning up to 500 calories per day, explained Cheryl Lovelady, a professor of nutrition and a breast-feeding expert at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. "If you didn’t change your calorie intake at all, you’re losing a pound a week," she said.

The study was published July 10 in the International Journal of Obesity.

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