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Babies who are bottle fed are substantially more likely to end up obese than those who are breast-fed, research by the World Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed.
A study of almost 30,000 children found that breastfeeding had a “protective” effect which reduced the chance of having weight-related problems in the future.
Babies who are exclusively bottle-fed are 25 per cent more likely to be obese when they grow up, while in some countries the risk increases by up to 90 per cent.
The research, which included data from 16 European countries, found that babies who are given a mixture of breastfeeding and formula milk are 12 per cent more likely to end up obese than if they only had breast milk.
According to experts involved in the study, the reason formula milk may cause babies to gain more weight is because it is developed from cows' milk which has higher levels of protein and may trigger the growth of fat cells.
Show all 32 1 /32Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding Britain Sammie, Emmanuella and Yideeda – home shoot.
Photography by Unicef
Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding Guinea-Bissau A woman, helped by her mother, breastfeeds her newborn baby in UNICEF-supported Canchungo Hospital, in the northern Cacheu Region of Guinea-Bissau.
Unicef/Zehbrauskas
Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding Ethiopia Mihret Breast feeds her 6 month old son Dawit at Kihen Health Post in Kilte Awlaelo Woreda Kihen Health Post implements Health, Nutrition, Hygiene and Sanitation programmes with UNICEF’s support targeted at building the capacity of the health system.
Unicef/Sewunet
Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding Sierra Leone Haja Isatu Bah who has delivered six children but lost two of them as a result of fever, poses for a photograph at her home in Waterloo Freetown, Sierra Leone. Haja Isatu Bah who has delivered six children but lost two of them as a result of fever, poses for a photograph at her home in Waterloo Freetown, Sierra Leone Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016. Since 2010, UNICEF have supported the Government of Sierra Leone’s Free Health Care initiative for pregnant and lactating women, and children under five, reducing the number of child deaths. Through a partnership with the Government of Sierra Leone and UNICEF, the European Union since 2013 has been supporting the country’s efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the health sector. The aim is to reduce the country’s high levels of child and maternal mortality through multi-year investment in training, health workers, infrastructure, and the free health care initiative.
Unicef/Holt
Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding China As a working mother, Fiona managed to breastfeed her baby for 28 months. “I made it because I learned correct knowledge of breastfeeding online, and also having a healthy baby makes me more confident. But the biggest support is what I got from my family.” She said. Fiona pumped at 10 o’clock in the morning and at 3 o’clock in the afternoon in the office storage room. She would then immediately send the breast milk to her father waiting downstairs. A few minutes later, her baby would enjoy her still warm milk.
UnicefF/Liu
Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding Indonesia Nanai, a ‘cadre’ (volunteer community health worker), chats with Sujilah, who is breastfeeding her 5-day-old infant in a room of the family’s home, in Dukuh Village.
Unicef/Ferguson
Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding Myanmar Zar Gyi, 26, of North Htan Kone village of Oaktwin Township, who works in the paddy field, breastfeeds her child during break time. A community-based ‘Communication for Development’ project to promote exclusive breastfeeding began implementation in 574 villages in Phyu and Oaktwin townships in 2010.
Unicef/Thame
Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding Niger Amina Garba breastfeeding her child.
Unicef/Tremeau
Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding Britain Gareth, Chantelle and baby Robbie - St Thomas’ Hospital.
Unicef/Jill jennings
Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding Ethiopia Asha Mohammed breastfeeds her 1-year-old son, Gemechisa Dawe, while standing in the vegetable garden she and her husband have owned for the past two years, in the village of Wolargi, in Gemechis. Ms. Mohammed has three other children. “Previously, I used to buy and use the vegetables from the market, but now I’m using [vegetables] from my garden. … I’m taking my child to the health post, and his weight is being measured every month. If his weight is decreasing, then I give him more of the proper foods, and I take him back to the health post. The reason why I planted the vegetables is for my child to be healthy, to gain weight and to have a brighter mind. The future that I want for my child is for him to go to school and be a good student and become a doctor. The message that I want to pass to [my] community … is to prepare balanced meals and provide it to their children, and this will prevent malnutrition.”
Unicef/Nesbitt
Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding Haiti 33 year old Saint Therese Petit cleans and cuts vegetables as as she breast feeds her 6 month old son Jean Philippe Darilius outside their house in Quicroit, an isolated village on the mountains south of Port au Prince.
Unicef/Dormino
Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding Bangladesh Sadia is breastfed by her mother Lovely at their home in Bhaluka, Mymensingh.
Unicef/Paul
Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding Uganda A mothers breast feeds her baby during Early Childhood Development activation in Kamuli district headquarters. Four districts in Busoga sub-region of Mid-Eastern Uganda were represented at the activation.
Unicef/Adriko
Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding Britain Elizabeth and Spencer Gabbe - St Thomas’ Hospital - “Spencer is a smiley, happy boy and is looking forward (I hope) to turning one next month! Breastfeeding wasn’t easy to begin with, but the assistance from the hospital and the borough (via the literature provided and the advice of midwives (home visits/milk spots)) made the process so much more manageable. I have continued support at my workplace (I resumed full time work at eight months) as there is a well maintained mother’s room for expressing mums.”
Unicef/Jill jennings
Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding Mongolia Mother Delgermurun Tsolomon, 32, sits in the middle and with baby Sugarmaa Batjargal surrounded by family. They live in a ger (a nomadic tent) in the Alag-Erdene area in Mongolia.
Unicef/Njiokiktjien VII Photo
Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding South Africa Nonhlanhla Dubazane, 29, lives in eMalahleni, Mphumaleagna, South Africa. When Nonhlanhla discovered that she was both pregnant and HIV positive, she was frightened, but through antiretroviral treatment and uninterrupted breastfeeding, her son, Answer, now 6 months old, is healthy and HIV-free. Nonhlanhla is a single mother who works, so she must express her breast milk to feed Answer while she is away. It is not easy, she says, but it is worth it.
Unicef/Schermbrucke
Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding Mexico Gabino helps drying his wife's hair while she breastfeeds their newborn baby girl at the Zongolica IMSS Prospera hospital in Mexico.
Unicef/Zehbrauskas
Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding Britain Joanne, Samuel and baby Noah - St Thomas’ Hospital.
Unicef/Jill jennings
Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding Nepal Pooja, 27, breastfeeds her newborn baby at the UNICEF-supported Patan Hospital.
Unicef/Page
Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding Mali Mama Yeleen Fatoumata Ouattara leads a group session with women to raise awareness of the importance of prenatal health visits and other matters related to health in Baraouéli village, Ségou Region, Mali, Tuesday 6 February 2018. The Mama Yeleen initiative, which is promoted and supported by UNICEF and its partners, trains women to act as model mothers in early childhood development (ECD) and good nutritional practices, educating parents about best practices for the welfare of mothers and their children.
Unicef/Keita
Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding Thailand Amugpote watches his wife Kiengmachu breastfeed their baby girl named Nam (which means water), at Lerdsin Hospital, Bangkok.
Unicef/Zehbrauskas
Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding Uzbekistan Gulonur Bekbosinova breastfeeds her one-day-old newborn, Arman, assisted by a nurse, in the city of Khujayli’s hospital, in the Karakalpakstan Region.
Unicef/Pirozzi
Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding Kenya Susan Ateka, a community health worker supported by Concern, UNICEF’s implementing partner, visits Maximila and her daughter at her home in Mukuru, Nairobi. Maximila lives in a small 10 by 10 feet flat with her husband Martin, her two children as well as her younger sister and her child. Martin works as a casual construction worker. Work is hard to come by and when he does work, he earns between 300 to 500 Kenyan Shilling per day. Their accommodation costs 3000 Kenyan Shilling per month, not including utilities such as gas, water and electricity. “I will exclusively breastfeed Gloria for six months. I know I cannot give her anything but breast milk, not even water. That will make her sick. My milk has everything she needs,” says Maximila.
Unicef/Noorani
Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding Ghana A nursing mother breastfeeding her baby.
Unicef/Takyo
Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding Romania A woman cradles her newborn in the Pantelimon Maternity Hospital, in Bucharest, the capital. The hospital participates in the UNICEF-endorsed Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, which promotes breastfeeding, a vital source of nutrition for infants and a powerful bonding activity for women and their babies. One result of the programme has been a decline in the number of infants placed in alternative care.
Unicef/Holt
Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding Nepal In the remote Bijulidanda village of Amppipal VDC of Gorkha district, UNICEF's social mobiliser Mina KC helps to educate young new mothers about proper breastfeeding.
Unicef/Shrestha
Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding Britain Leonie and friends in Lloyd Park, Walthamstow, August 2017 - Four East London mums enjoy support and company while being out and about with their babies. Leonie Brown, mum of 2, says, “It really helps in the early days to meet up with other mums so you can swap stories and tips with people in the same boat as you, especially about breastfeeding. Having support out and about when you’re starting to breastfeed in public is also really helpful.”
Unicef/Jill jennings
Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding Sierra Leone A woman breast feeds her child in the village of Old Meima, Kono district, Sierra Leone .
Unicef/Asselin
Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding Samoa Christina breastfeeds her newborn son Christopher Victory in the maternity ward of Western Samoa National Hospital in Apia.
Unicef/Pirozzi
Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding Sierra Leone Zainab Kamara, supported by her mother, breastfeeds one of her twin sons in Karineh Village in Magbema Chiefdom, Kambia District. The community health worker in the village is among the estimated 15,000 in the country helping to bringing life-saving health services to their communities.
Unicef
Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding Sierra Leone Fatu Kamara, supported by Community Health Worker Bai Kamara, breastfeeds one of her sons outdoors. Ms. Kamara, who gave birth in Kambia Government Hospital, initially went to Worreh Community Health Post as soon as she went into labour but was quickly transported to the Hospital when nurses at the health post determined that she needed surgery. “I am glad that I allowed Bai to persuade me to go to the health facility. Who knows what might have happened if [I] would have been stubborn and not listen? [sic] I and my sons would have been history by now,” Ms. Kamara said. “Bai visited me a couple of times when I was pregnant,” she continued. “During those visits, we talked about the importance of going for antenatal care, giving birth at the hospital, sleeping under a bednet, personal hygiene and the types [of food that] I should eat. My sons and I are alive today because I listened to him and went to the health centre as soon as I went into labour.”
Unicef/Phelps
Celebrating women across the world breastfeeding India Sumi Madhi a volunteer, on child feeding, nutrition and care interacts with mothers in Kudada, India.
Unicef/Vishwanathan
The WHO has since called for more support to help mothers breast feed and less promotion of formula milk.
Dr Joao Breda, head of the WHO European office for prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases, said governments must do more to promote breastfeeding.
“Breastfeeding has a really strong protective effect. The evidence is there. The benefit is outstanding so we should be telling people,” Breda said.
Sue Ashmore, director of the Unicef UK’s Baby Friendly Initiative agreed, adding that breastfeeding is “the first defence against the epidemic of obesity”.
“In the UK we have some of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world, with eight out of ten women stopping breastfeeding before they want to,” Ashmore said.
Despite the findings, only around one per cent of mothers in Britain breastfeed their child for at least six months without using a bottle, the latest figures from Unicef show.
In 2018, a report by Public Health England (PHE) revealed that the number of women breastfeeding their babies six to eight weeks after giving birth had declined.
Just 42.7 per cent of mothers breastfeed their babies when they are six weeks old, according to most recent data for 2017-2018.
The rate has fallen from 43.1 per cent in 2015-2016 and 43.8 per cent in 2014-2015.
According to the NHS’s Start4Life campaign, the benefits of breastfeeding include protection from infection and nutritional balance, as well as a lower chance of sudden infant death syndrome, childhood leukaemia and allergies.
It also claims that breastfed babies are less likely to develop diabetes or become overweight when they are older and says mothers benefit by bonding with their child and having a lower risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events The WHO recommends that mothers breastfeed their baby for the first six months of life , after which they can start eating solids, supplemented by breastfeeding.
It places no upper age limit on breastfeeding but encourages mothers to do so until their child is around two years old.
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