title: The impact of breastfeeding on body weight.
abstract: Obesity is on the rise and at epidemic levels in many countries, including the UK. The costs of managing the health of a public with large body mass index (BMI) is spiralling out of control and, without a call for action, will continue to escalate. In this paper Valerie Finigan discusses the impact of increased maternal BMI in pregnancy, and breastfeeding. She highlights the associated risks of obesity for the infant if breastfeeding fails, the challenges the mother may face in breastfeeding, and identifies ways that the challenges can be minimised. Finigan considers the reasons why breastfeeding is successful in reducing obesity in the infant. The aims of the paper are to introduce ideas that improve outcomes and reduce the likelihood of obesity for both the mother and infant
authors.affiliation: Pennine Acute NHS Hospitals Trust.
authors.forename: Valerie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Finigan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009035:Mothers / Q000193:education* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012307:Risk Factors; D006113:United Kingdom; D055815:Young Adult