Breast-feeding has many established benefits for child health; in fact, previous meta-analyses of research found that breast-fed infants have a 26% reduced risk of obesity later in life.

In a study in the October 2018 Pediatrics (published online Sept. 24), “Infant Feeding and Weight Gain: Separating Breastmilk from Breastfeeding and Formula from Food,” researchers found that breast-feeding was associated with lower BMI and a reduced risk of excessive weight gain in the first year of life. This trend was stronger with longer and more exclusive breast-feeding, independent of maternal BMI or socioeconomic status.

Researchers studied 2,553 infants of women enrolled in the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development birth cohort between 2009 and 2012 and found that 97% initiated breast-feeding. The median breast-feeding duration was 11 months.

The study also shows that feeding expressed breast milk from a bottle appeared to have a weaker beneficial effect compared with direct feeding at the breast, although expressed milk was still more beneficial compared to formula.

Researchers concluded that this evidence helps recommend breast-feeding, but that further research about infant feeding practices and how they influence the development and prevention of childhood obesity is needed.