Date Published: 23 November 2005

Breastfeeding benefits mothers by reducing risk of Type 2 Diabetes

A study of over 157,000 mothers in the US has found that breastfeeding could reduce their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes for up to 15 years.

One year of breastfeeding was found to reduce the risk by 15% and if breastfeeding continued, the risk was reduced further. If a woman had two children and breastfed each child for year, her risk of developing the condition would be reduced by a third.

"This is an interesting study", said Roopinder Brar, Care Advisor at Diabetes UK.

" Breastfeeding has been shown to help the health of the baby and mother in a variety of ways. Women who give birth to large babies and those who develop gestational diabetes during pregnancy have an increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes later in life.

_ A balanced diet and regular physical activity have already been proven to reduce this risk, but we will need to wait for the results of further research before we can see if breastfeeding also plays a part."

Credit to: The Public Affairs and Press office at Diabetes UK.

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