Lose weight after pregnancy Longer breastfeeding can help

Good for the figure: those who breastfeed longer often stay slim

If mothers breastfeed their children for more than six months, they may be able to control their weight more easily and have a slimmer waistline years after birth. This is what the results of a long-term study at the University of Pittsburgh suggest, involving almost 700 mothers. Extensive data on women's health and breastfeeding practices were collected for the study. In addition, scientists determined the body weight, height and waist circumference of participants 7 to 15 years after delivery.

Fat in the abdomen is particularly harmful because it collects on the internal organs and is very active in metabolism. The waist circumference reflects the state of the abdominal organs and allows assessment of visceral (in-body) adipose tissue. A waist circumference greater than 88 cm is called visceral obesity.

Mothers with visceral obesity in the decade after birth had breastfed an average of 3.9 months. If the waist circumference was less than 88 cm, the women had provided their child with breast milk for an average of 6.4 months. Test persons who had been breast-feeding for more than six months had a particularly slim waist. The waist circumference was on average 3.5 cm lower than in mothers with a shorter breastfeeding period.

The observational study was supplemented with so-called propensity score analyzes, which compared women with similar characteristics. This minimized the possibility of biasing the results due to an overall healthier lifestyle for long-lactation women. Further studies are to follow in which the lifelong breastfeeding period over several pregnancies is considered.

Pregnancy is a major change for the woman's body. After giving birth it can be difficult to regain the original weight. Those who fully breastfeed their child consume about 500 kilocalories more per day for milk production. Presumably, the higher calorie demand over several months can facilitate a healthy weight loss, the researchers write in the "Journal of Women's Health". Heike Kreutz, bzfe