The benefits of breast-feeding don't stop when your baby is weaned.
If researchers are to be believed, breast-feeding protects your kid against developing heart disease in adulthood too.
According to a study by international researchers, breast-fed babies are less likely to be obese or have heart problems as they have a lower body mass index and higher levels of good cholesterol later in life than their bottle-fed counterparts, The Times reported.
"The benefits of breast-feeding in infancy and childhood are well established. But I wondered if it were as helpful for health in adulthood," said lead researcher Nisha Parikh of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre in Boston.
In fact, the researchers came to the conclusion after conducting a study on nearly 1,000 middle-aged adults who were breast-fed as infants -- 55 per cent were found to be having high levels of high-density lipoprotein or "good" cholesterol that protects against cardiovascular disease.
According to their findings, the adults also had a lower average body mass index score -- 26.1 kg/m2 compared with 26.9 than those who were bottle-fed. A BMI of over 25 is considered to be overweight and can lead to heart disease.
"This was a modest reduction in BMI, but even a modest reduction leads to a significantly reduced risk of cardiovascular disease-related death.
"Having been breast-fed in infancy was associated with longer-term health benefits even after accounting for personal and maternal demographic and cardiovascular risk factors that could influence the results," Parikh was quoted by the daily as saying.
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