Children who are breastfed are less likely to become overweight and develop diabetes in later life, a new Danish study has revealed.
The PhD research, conducted by LIFE - the Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Copenhagen, found breastfeeding lowers the levels of the growth hormones IGF-I and insulin in the blood of children, resulting in slightly slower growth. This is believed to reduce future risk of obesity and diabetes .
The PhD project, which is part of a large-scale Danish study of small children called SKOT, followed and examined 330 healthy children at 9, 18 and 36 months.
LIFE PhD, Anja Lykke Madsen said: "We can see that breastfeeding has a significant, measurable effect on the important growth regulators in the blood, IGF-I and insulin . The more times the child was breastfed, the lower the hormone levels. This suggests that the child has a slightly lower risk of becoming overweight later in childhood."
"At the same time, there was a correlation between how long the children were breastfed and their weight at 18 months."
Kim Fleischer Michaelsen, head of the SKOT project, said that the study provides valuable knowledge about the factors affecting the early onset of obesity .
"It is well-known that children who are breastfed grow slightly more slowly than children who are given formula, and it looks as if this growth pattern is optimal because it reduces the risk of developing lifestyle diseases later in life," he commented.
"However, the new results from SKOT show that breastfeeding also affects levels of IGF-I and insulin at 9 months, i.e. at a time when the children are well into eating solids."
"Looking at the children’s growth up to 18 months identified a number of interesting correlations which may improve our understanding of the mechanisms behind early-onset obesity . The longer the children were breastfed, the lower their weight at 18 months. It’s as simple as that."
Breastfeeding Linked To Lower Diabetes Risk In Kids
Wed, 21 Dec 2011
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