BREAST FEEDING REDUCES RISK OF DIABETES MELLITEUS

Breastfeeding and risk reduction
in type-2 diabetes
Breastfeeding may provide a degree of
long-term protection against the deve-
lopment of type-2 diabetes, which could
be of public health importance. Longer
duration of breastfeeding was associated
with reduced incidence of type-2 diabe-
tes mellitus in two large US cohorts of young and middle-aged women
16
, the
Nurses’ Health Studies I and II. In sup-
port of this, the Shanghai Women’s
Health Study also demonstrated that
longer duration of breastfeeding was as-
sociated with a reduced risk of type-2
diabetes mellitus, independently of known
risk factors for type-2 diabetes mellitus
17
.
Previous studies have documented a
lower prevalence of breastfeeding among
African–American infants than among
infants of other races/ethnicities
18
. There-
fore, it is advised that targeting popu-
lation subgroups at relatively high risk
both for type-2 diabetes and low preva-
lence of breastfeeding, may offer an im-
portant opportunity for primary prevention
of type-2 diabetes through promotion of
breastfeeding.
In our fast-paced and pre-packaged
world, it is easy to stay away from natu-
ral foods. However, when life is just
starting out, nothing is better for baby
than the most natural food of all –
breastfeeding. Breastfeeding has been a
part of our culture since ancient times.
But with modernization, breastfeeding
practices have gradually declined. This
has resulted in activities for increasing
awareness and promotion of breastfeeding.
According to the Indian Academy of Pe-
diatrics Policy on Infant Feeding, ‘an
ideal infant feeding comprises exclusive
breastfeeding for 6 months followed by
sequential addition of semi-solid and
solid foods to complement (not replace)
breast milk till the child is gradually able
to eat normal family food (around one
year)’. The latter period is also referred
to as weaning. The term ‘weaning’ does
not denote termination of breastfeeding.