HHS HealthBeat (November 07, 2007)

Breastfed baby benefits 2

Researcher Nisha Parikh of Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center says adults who were breastfed carried less weight for their size, and had better readings on an important cholesterol measure.

``We found that adults who were breastfed as infants had lower mean body mass index and higher mean HDL, or good cholesterol, levels in adulthood. On the other hand, we found that breastfeeding in infancy was not related to blood pressure or total cholesterol levels in adulthood.’’ (16 seconds)

Last revised: May, 26 2008