Can Breastfeeding Help You Lose Weight?

Most pregnant women worry about losing weight after the baby arrives and fear they won’t be able to return to their pre-pregnancy weight.

Fortunately, a great deal of research has shown that breastfeeding aids in weight loss, adding it to the many benefits women enjoy by choosing to breastfeed their child.

Exclusive breastfeeding can burn up to 500 calories per day, allowing women to get back into their pre-pregnancy clothes even faster compared to women who bottle feed their children.

Here’s a look at some of the most important research pointing to both long- and short-term weight loss benefits of breastfeeding.

One recent British study, published in the International Journal of Obesity, found that breastfeeding offers long-term benefits for women trying to lose weight.

This study looked at statistics from over 750,000 women who participated in the Million Women Study, specifically at whether the individuals breastfed and how long it lasted.

In general, women who breastfed saw a long-term yet relatively modest reduction in their BMI. BMI decreased, on average, 1% for every 6 months women breastfed their children.

Kirsty Bobrow, one of the authors of the study, explains that this study shows long-term effects on weight loss as the women in the study had not breastfed for, on average, 30 years since their weights and heights were noted.

While scientists aren’t sure why breastfeeding offers this long-term benefit for weight loss, one popular theory is known as the reset hypothesis.

According to the reset hypothesis, when fat accumulates during pregnancy it increases resistance to insulin as well as triglyceride and lipid levels in the blood.

Lactation then allows the body to reverse this and enables a woman’s body to return to their normal metabolism after childbirth.

A separate study in 1996 found that women who breastfeed exclusively have higher-than-average weight loss with a corresponding decrease in body fat percentage.

These women also have a lower hip and thigh circumference 3 months post-partum compared to women who bottle fed or only partially breastfed their children.

Finally, a study in 2008, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that post-partum weight loss from breastfeeding is especially high during the first 6 months of a child’s life.

This study found that exclusive breastfeeding helps to reduce pregnancy weight retention for up to 6 months after birth.

While multiple studies over the past couple of decades have shown that breastfeeding does offer weight loss benefits to nursing mothers, it’s important to realize that it should be combined with a sensible diet and regular activity.

The level of weight loss experienced by women also varies a great deal, with some women even gaining weight during the months that they nurse.

Still, the long- and short-term weight loss benefits are important to keep in mind if you’re considering whether you should breastfeed your child.