HHS HealthBeat (November 07, 2007)

Breastfed baby benefits

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

Breastfed babies seem to have some things better even in middle age. A researcher who looked at data covering two generations says that, compared with bottlefed babies, breastfed babies grew into grown-ups with somewhat less weight and better cholesterol.

Nisha Parikh of Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center says the changes were modest. And her study can’t prove breastfeeding caused the improvements. But she notes a health pattern:

``I think our results support the notion that cardiovascular disease is a life-course disease that has its roots very early.’’ (6 seconds)

Parikh says even a modest reduction in a person’s weight-to-height ratio can reduce the risk of dying of cardiovascular disease.

The study, which was supported by the National Institutes of Health, was being presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2007.

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: May, 26 2008