Apples for Health- Obesity breastfeeding advantage gone by 7

Obesity breastfeeding advantage gone by 7

SOUTHAMPTON, England, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- A longer breastfeeding was associated with lower body mass index at age 1, but this relationship disappeared by age 7, British researchers said.

The study, published in the Journal of Nutrition, found there was no significant difference in BMI at the age of 60 years associated with duration of breastfeeding.

These findings may help explain why some studies that examined breastfed infants during the first year of life suggested a protective effect of breastfeeding and obesity, whereas other studies that examined the relationship later in life have found no such effect, the researchers said.

Dr. David Barker of the University of Southampton in England and Oregon Health and Science University said the study examined breastfeeding in a large group of sibling pairs that were followed into their late 60s.

"This type of study design controls for maternal factors. Differences in the long-term effects of breast and bottle feeding may reflect differences in the mothers rather than the effects of feeding itself," Barker said in a statement.

"Maternal factors include maternal health status, maternal care-giving, mother-child interactions or other health-related behaviors of the mother that may interfere with determining the association of infant feeding and health outcomes and the strength of any possible associations."