According to two new studies from UN health agency (WHO), babies who have never or only intermittently been breastfed, “have an increased risk of becoming obese as children”.   

The results released at this year’s European Congress on Obesity, also show that despite prevention efforts, childhood obesity across the continent remains a problem.  WHO spelt out on Tuesday, that “the longer a child is breastfed, the greater their protection from obesity”.   

According to the study, breastfeeding practices in the region fall short of WHO recommendations for a number of reasons, including: a lack of policies to encourage breastfeeding, a lack of training for health professionals to support breastfeeding, and the intensive marketing of breast milk substitutes.  

WHO recommends breastfeeding exclusively for the first 6 months of life. Thereafter, infants should be given complementary foods, with continued breastfeeding up to the age of two, or even beyond.  

Source: UN

https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/04/1037591