Breastfeeding May Reduce Type II Diabetes Risk

Experts in the United States recently determined that breastfeeding can be used as an indicator of gagging a woman's risk of developing type II diabetes later on in life.

The researchers found that females who had breastfed their babies after birth were a lot more likely not to exhibit any of the symptoms associated with this particular condition.

Conversely, women who failed to breastfeed exhibited a much higher change of eventually developing the terrible diseases, years later, e! Science News reports.

The investigation was conducted by experts at the University of Pittsburgh, and details of the findings appear in the September issue of the esteemed American Journal of Medicine.

In the research, the team looked at the medical records of no less than 2,233 women, all of them aged between 40 and 78. About 56 percent of them said that they breastfed their children for at least a full month after birth.

“Diet and exercise are widely known to impact the risk of type 2 diabetes, but few people realize that breastfeeding also reduces mothers' risk of developing the disease later in life by decreasing maternal belly fat,” explains Eleanor Bimla Schwarz, MD, MS.

"We have seen dramatic increases in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes over the last century,” adds the expert, who holds an appointment as an assistant professor of medicine, epidemiology, obstetrics and gynecology, and of reproductive sciences at the university.

The team she led reveals that a total of 27 percent of all women that did not breastfeed at all developed type II diabetes later on in life.

It was additionally determined that these females were two times more likely to develop the condition, overall, than those who breastfed their infants on time.

This correlation also held true when the scientists compared these women to those who never gave birth at all. In other words, giving birth and breastfeeding helps protect against type II diabetes.

“Our study provides another good reason to encourage women to breastfeed their infants, at least for the infant's first month of life. Clinicians need to consider women's pregnancy and lactation history when advising women about their risk for developing type 2 diabetes,” Dr. Schwarz adds.

Diabetes is a disease affecting the kidneys, which become unable to produce the vital hormone insulin. This chemical breaks down sugar in the bloodstream, and thus keeps its levels in check.