Breastfeeding and Risk of Later Life Obesity
November 4, 2008
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New Scientific Review Addresses The Relationship Between Breastfeeding And Risk Of Later Life Obesity
ATLANTA (November 4, 2008) – Breast milk is recognized and recommended as the ideal form of infant nutrition and benefits the health of infants. Additionally, studies have looked to see if breastfeeding conveys long term health benefits, such as reducing the risk of chronic diseases. A recent review of obesity studies, however, indicates that protection against later life obesity is not likely one of the benefits.
Data have shown that there are many factors that can impact the development of obesity, including genetics, activity, and diet. Yet, as more scientific evidence is evaluated, claims that breastfeeding reduces the risk of adult obesity do not stand up to a scientific rigor.
The latest scientific review of this issue is published in the November 2008 issue of Obesity Reviews. The study author, Dr. David Allison, provides a "Critical Review of the World Health Organization's 2007 report on 'Evidence of the Long-Term Effects of Breastfeeding: Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis' with respect to obesity." He concludes, “There is not sufficient evidence to conclude that breastfeeding causes a long-term reduction in risk of obesity that persists into adulthood. Moreover, given the lack of compelling evidence even for an association with adult obesity, makes the likelihood of causation seem quite low.”
Dr. Allison is Professor of Biostatistics, Head of the Section on Statistical Genetics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Director of the NIH-funded Clinical Nutrition Research Center. The independent review was commissioned by the International Formula Council.
Dr. Allison’s critical review addresses the evidence of an association between breastfeeding and later obesity, and also explores whether the relationship between breastfeeding and obesity, if any, could be causal. Other technical concerns, such as publication bias and attention to confounding factors are raised, and should help guide similar future reviews. Additionally, the review describes the association between obesity and a variety of other factors, and found that the association with breastfeeding is small relative to factors like diet and exercise.
A study conducted by Harvard Medical School researchers and published last year in the International Journal of Obesity supports Dr. Allison’s conclusion. That study was based on data collected from 35,526 women participating in the Nurses’ Health Study II (NHS), which is to date the largest study examining breastfeeding and its influence on adult weight status.
The Harvard study found that women who were breastfed as infants did not have a lower incidence of overweight or obesity in adulthood when compared to women who were not breastfed.
According to Mardi Mountford, executive vice president of the International Formula Council (IFC)*, “The IFC and each of its members support breastfeeding and the American Academy of Pediatrics’ position that breastfeeding is ideal, and offers specific child and maternal benefits. As an industry, we have and continue to support breastfeeding. As new scientific evidence is evaluated, we can better understand the role of infant feeding in health.”
She added, “There are only two recognized safe and effective methods to feed an infant – breast milk and infant formula. It’s important to understand that no studies have shown that breastfeeding prevents obesity, or conversely that not breastfeeding causes obesity.”
To view Dr. Allison’s manuscript, please visit: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/120125882/abstract
For more information on the infant feeding, please visit: www.infantformula.org
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