There are many benefits of breastfeeding, one of which is that it aids the removal of fat that stays around the abdomen after pregnancy. Scientists believe that this excess fat is one of the keys factors behind the Diabetes.
The belief is that lowering rates of breastfeeding in the western world may go some way to explaining the massive increase in type 2 diabetes among older women.
A study of 2,233 women aged 40 to 78 found that a quarter of mothers who did not breastfeed developed type 2 diabetes and they were almost twice as likely to get it as women who had breastfed or never given birth. In comparison, women who breastfed all their children were no more likely to develop diabetes than women who remained childless.
The UK has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in Europe, with almost a third of new mothers never trying to breastfeed compared with a mere two per cent in Sweden.
