Daily HealthBeat Tip - March 03, 2008

Breastfed babies and teen weight

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Teens who are lower on the socioeconomic scale are more likely to be overweight than are better-off teens. But breastfed babies are less likely to grow into overweight teens. So what happens to breastfed babies of mothers who were lower on the socio-economic scale?

To seek an answer, researchers examined data on teens whose mothers had breastfed.

The scientists found a benefit to breastfeeding.

Jessica Woo of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center:

"Breastfeeding for at least four months is associated with about half the odds of being overweight or obese in adolescence, regardless of race, ethnicity or parental education." (7 seconds)

The researchers think increasing breastfeeding could help babies in these families become less likely to have weight problems as teens.

The study in the journal Pediatrics was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: March, 03 2008