Home > Obesity and other NCDs

Breastfeeding – why

10/19/2025

Table of Contents

Obesity

Obesity is a non-communicable disease (NCD) and a problem that has become a global concern because of the many related pathologies, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, joint problems and mental health.

Preventing obesity is at the heart of the GIFA’s work for the Canton of Geneva and the Marchez, mangez malin! programme. Because breastfeeding is an important factor in the prevention strategy, both for the child and for the breastfeeding mother.

WHO facts en obesity

  • In 2022, 1 in 8 people in the world were living with obesity. 
  • Worldwide adult obesity has more than doubled since 1990, and adolescent obesity has quadrupled.
  • In 2022, 2.5 billion adults (18 years and older) were overweight. Of these, 890 million were living with obesity.
  • In 2022, 43% of adults aged 18 years and over were overweight and 16% were living with obesity.
  • In 2022, 37 million children under the age of 5 were overweight.
  • Over 390 million children and adolescents aged 5–19 years were overweight in 2022, including 160 million who were living with obesity.

Source : https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight

Breastfeeding – a preventive factor

COSI – Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative

Obesity (whether in children or adults) is multifactorial. Breastfeeding contributes in various ways to protecting the child (who is the future adult) but also the breastfeeding woman (see below).

It is important to emphasise the role of breastfeeding from the very start of nutrition, in order to lay the foundations for healthy metabolic regulation and balanced body weight. Overweight and obesity are often directly linked to the onset of diabetes 2, to the extent that we now talk of the ‘diabesity’ epidemic. The costs involved are considerable; in Switzerland, 10% of adults and 5% of children are affected: https://www.bag.admin.ch/bag/fr/home/gesund-leben/gesundheitsfoerderung-und-praevention/koerpergewicht/uebergewicht-und-adipositas/kosten-uebergewicht-und-adipositas.html

These are the figures for 2012. A new study is currently under way, with results expected towards the end of 2024.

Breastfeeding protects against Childhood obesity

Obesity (in children and adults) is multifactorial. Breastfeeding helps to protect the child (who is the future adult) in a number of ways.

It’s important to emphasise the role of breastfeeding from the very start of nutrition, to lay the foundations for healthy metabolic regulation and balanced body weight. Overweight and obesity are often directly linked to the onset of diabetes 2, to the point where we now speak of the ‘diabesity’ epidemic (a contraction of diabetes and obesity). The costs involved are considerable; in Switzerland, 10% of adults and 5% of children are affected: https://www.bag.admin.ch/bag/fr/home/gesund-leben/gesundheitsfoerderung-und-praevention/koerpergewicht/uebergewicht-und-adipositas/kosten-uebergewicht-und-adipositas.html

  • Breastmilk (BM) is a physiological, bio-dynamic liquid that adapts to the child’s needs and retains its nutritional and immuno-protective values throughout the period of breastfeeding (even after 2 years)
  • BM nourishes the baby’s microbiota and good bacteria
  • BM provides hormones that regulate appetite and fat metabolism (ghrelin, leptin, adiponectin, apelin etc.).
  • BM shapes children’s tastes through its variety and prepares them for diversification
  • BM prepares them for the transition to the family table without necessarily using processed industrial foods.

Breastfeeding protects against Maternal obesity

Breastfeeding protects mother’s against obesity. See our dedicated page : woman’s health

References for breastfeeding and obesity

NCDs – a global public health issue

A non-communicable disease (or NCD for short) is a non-infectious disease that cannot be transmitted from person to person. Obesity, diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease are NCDs. In 2019, the World Health Assembly extended the WHO Global Action Plan on NCDs 2013-2020 until 2030. See the WHO page on key facts about https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/noncommunicable-diseases

Breastfeeding reduces risk factors for NCDs

An important way of combating NCDs is to focus on reducing the risk factors associated with these diseases. Certain behaviours, such as smoking, physical inactivity, poor diet and harmful use of alcohol, can be modified to reduce the risk of NCDs.

Encouraging breastfeeding also helps to reduce this risk, both for the health of the child and for the health of the mother. Breastfeeding is associated with normal body weight, normal insulin metabolism and good long-term physical and mental health. In other words, not breastfeeding is associated with obesity, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, etc.

IBFAN statement on NCDs in 2023

At the World Health Assembly (WHA), IBFAN has supported WHO’s work on NCDs since the start, highlighting the need for Conflicts of Interest safeguards, clear terminology and the protection breastfeeding and sound child feeding – essential in preventing NCDs.  FENSA (Framework of Engagement with Non-State Actors) has led to much confusion about identities and responsibilities.  Corporations have no democratic accountability and health policies should be free of their influence.  In our experience ‘multi-stakeholder’ partnerships with health-harming corporations delay effective legislation, especially on labels and marketing.  WHO must develop a global definition for Ultra Processed products –not food  and covered in claims about added micro-nutrients, yet do so much harm. Deaths from unhealthy food now exceed those of tobacco. We can say this because IBFAN is not a ‘stakeholder’ and has no financial ‘stake’ in this issue. See our page Conflict of interest

One important way of combating NCDs is to focus on reducing the risk factors associated with these diseases. Certain behaviours, such as smoking, physical inactivity unhealthy diet and the harmful use of alcohol, can be modified to reduce the risk of NCDs. Encouraging breastfeeding also helps to reduce this risk, for the health of both the child and the mother. Breastfeeding is associated with normal body weight, normal insulin metabolism, good physical and mental health, long-term physical and mental health. In other words
non-breastfeeding is associated with obesity, diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease etc.

NCDs and Covid-19

Breastfeeding is doubly important to protect against SARS-CoV2 as NCDs because

  • NCDs are risk factors that aggravated a Covid-19 episode,
  • breastmilk transmits many immunoprotective factors to the child. see also Immunology page

Benefits of breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is an indisputable fundamental value for the health of both mother and child. It’s also a guiding principle for prevention and health in Switzerland. It is therefore important to communicate in order to

  • inform women, parents, employers and the medical profession about the benefits of breastfeeding,
  • support women who choose to breastfeed, throughout the breastfeeding period,
  • invest in training health professionals about breastfeeding,
  • raise awareness among decision-makers of the need for support and information on breastfeeding,
  • create a breastfeeding-friendly society.

We must bear in mind that breastfeeding is the foundation of public health and at the heart of prevention.

2016 The Lancet Breastfeeding Series states in its executive summary : “With a substantial development of research and findings for breastfeeding over the past three decades, we are now able to expand on the health benefits for both women and children across the globe. The two papers in this Series will describe past and current global trends of breastfeeding, its short and long-term health consequences for the mother and child, the impact of investment in breastfeeding, and the determinants of breastfeeding and the effectiveness of promotion interventions.”

Epigenetic impact

See our dedicated page Epigenetics.

Breastfeeding and women’s health

Breastfeeding is not just about feeding a child; important processes take place in the body of the breastfeeding woman that have a long-term positive influence on her health. See our dedicated page Woman’s health

Breastfeeding and infant health

Breast-feeding is the optimum nutrition for the health and the development of the child. See Infant’s Health and also Immunology page as well as The Lancet Breastfeeding Series 2023