Lack of breastfeeding contributes to weight gain in children – WHO study

Feeding a baby with both breast and bottled milk increases the risk of obesity compared with exclusively breastfeeding, research has suggested.

A new study from the World Health Organisation (WHO) found that babies who are never or only partially breastfed have an increased risk of becoming obese as children.

The study was led by a team from the National Institute of Health in Lisbon and will be presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Glasgow today.

Overall, experts analysed data from 22 countries and included more than 100,000 six- to nine-year-olds.

The research found that, compared with children who were breastfed for six months, children who were never breastfed were 22 per cent more likely to be obese.

Meanwhile, those who were breastfed for less than six months were 12 per cent more likely to be obese.

Data from eight countries showed a similar protective effect against obesity that came from exclusive breastfeeding as opposed to mixed feeding.

WHO has a 2025 target to globally increase exclusive breastfeeding rates to 50 per cent in the first six months of life.

The authors said: “In general, breastfeeding practices in Europe fall short of WHO recommendations, due to inefficient policies to encourage breastfeeding, lack of preparation of health professionals to support breastfeeding, intensive marketing of breast milk substitutes, and problems in legislation on maternity protection, among others.”

Kate Brintworth, head of maternity transformation at the Royal College of Midwives, said: “This work contributes to the already strong evidence base about the many benefits of breastfeeding for mother and her baby.”