Diabetes Risk Test Show Breastfeeding Reduce Diabetes Risk

A group of researchers in the United States conducted a Diabetes risk test have discovered that breastfeeding mother reduce their lifetime risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, even when they only breastfeed for one month.

There were already other research which have linked breastfeeding and reduce diabetes risk among woman but the new report establishes further association between the two.

Diabetes Risk Test Show Breastfeeding Reduce Diabetes Risk

The test data from 2,333 woman, aged between 40 to 78, provided the information on births, breastfeeding practices for each of their child, the duration of breastfeeding and the history of Type 2 diabetes.

Researchers discovered that 27% of the mums who did not breastfeed developed Type 2 diabetes. These mums were nearly doubly as likely to develop diabetes compared with women who had breastfed or who had never given birth.

There were other studies that have recommended women to breastfeed for six months to see the health benefits of nursing, but this study established significant benefits even with just one month of breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding aids women in losing the worst kind of body fat, the visceral fat. Visceral fat normally accrue during pregnancy. While breastfeeding can assist a new mother lose weight, that's probably not the only explanation for reduce diabetes risk. Lactation also could improve glucose metabolism and insulin resistance and thus slow down the response to growth hormone. All of these effects could add to reduce diabetes risk among women who nurse their babies.

Researchers ascertained that women who breast-fed their children for at least one month developed diabetes at about the same rate as women who had never given birth. But mothers who had never breast-fed were almost twice as likely to develop diabetes. These association was there even after controlling for factors such as family history of diabetes, body mass index and level of physical activity.

The association appears to be related to belly fat. Study found that moms who didn't breastfeed had significantly larger waistline. Prior data has shown that the bigger your waist, the higher your risk of diabetes.

In light of these discovery, it is also critical that new mothers get the support they need whether at home, at work or in the hospital in order to breastfeed.