Does Breastfeeding Keep Women Thinner?

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Researchers found that women who had children tended to have higher body mass indexes later in life than did women with no children; however, the researchers were able to associate every six months of breast-feeding  with a 0.22 drop in BMIs among the women in their 50s and early 60s.

This translates to a 1 percent drop in BMIs for every six months of breast-feeding, the researchers said.

"We already know breast-feeding is best for babies, and this study adds to a growing body of evidence that the benefits extend to the mother as well, even 30 years after she's given birth," said study researcher Dr. Kirsty Bobrow, a researcher at the University of Oxford.

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Image: Mother breastfeeding newborn, via Shutterstock.