Breastfeeding plays a vital role in helping infants and mothers combat obesity

While it’s widely accepted that breastmilk is the best, nutrient-rich food for infants, it’s not as well-known that it plays a vital role in helping infants and mothers combat obesity.

Several studies have warned that childhood obesity in India is reaching epidemic proportions. A Lancet 2022 study reported that India hosts 12.5 million obese children aged between 5-19 years. Unicef’s World Obesity Atlas 2022 predicts that by 2030, India will have over 27 million obese children, representing one in ten obese children globally. Childhood obesity prompts numerous health problems, including heart disease, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome.

Against this backdrop of a looming child obesity crisis, it’s important to spread awareness about the importance of breastfeeding among parents. A recent study (The WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative 2019) using representative data from 22 countries found that “children who were never breastfed or who were breastfed for a shorter duration had higher risk of childhood obesity compared to those who were breastfed for at least six months”. It concluded that exclusive breastfeeding prevents the early introduction of complementary foods, which can contribute to unhealthy weight gain. Additionally, breastfeeding protects against excessive protein and energy intake, which is typically higher in formula milk.

Breastfeeding also contributes to good abdominal and gut health by providing the child good bacteria, offering protection against excessive weight gain. Furthermore, breastmilk contains hormones and nutrients that regulate food intake and contribute to shaping long-term physiological processes responsible for maintaining energy balance.

Childhood obesity not only adversely affects health and well-being in the short term but also significantly increases the risk of adult obesity, as reversing excessive weight gain can be challenging. Therefore, parents especially new mothers are strongly advised to exclusively breastfeed infants for the first six months and continue breastfeeding for up to two years of age, alongside providing complementary foods.

Breastfeeding confers numerous health benefits upon mothers as well. It reduces the risk of breast and ovarian cancers, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure. Hormones released during breastfeeding restore the uterus to its normal size and prevent postpartum bleeding.

Moreover mothers who breastfeed tend to lose post-partum weight more quickly. Breastfeeding can burn approximately 500-700 calories every day, comparable to 45 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise.

Other factors also influence postpartum weight loss — pre-pregnancy weight, physical activity, and diet. Lactating mothers are usually more conscious of their food choices. A well-balanced diet with low processed food intake and higher consumption of lean proteins, fibre-rich fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and legumes also enables weight loss.

It’s important however to note that rapid weight loss through restrictive eating or improper dieting is unhealthy, as it can reduce breast milk supply. Therefore, breastfeeding is a far better and natural way to reduce maternal obesity.

Breastfeeding benefits

• Breastmilk provides all nutrients required for optimal growth and development of infants. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months and up to two years of age, with complementary foods.
• Breastmilk contains antibodies that protect infants against illness, reducing the risk of asthma, type 1 diabetes, celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, and even leukemia. Additionally, breastfeeding lowers the risk of children developing hypertension, dyslipidemia, and coronary artery disease in adulthood. Studies also show that breastfeeding is associated with higher intelligence in children compared to those who are formula-fed.

(Deepalakshmi Sriram is paediatric and neonatal nutritionist, The Cleft and Craniofacial Centre, Sree Balaji Medical College & Hospital, Chennai)