(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Breastfeeding your babies can protect their hearts as they get older.

A new report from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center finds breastfed babies are less likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) when they’re adults compared to babies that are bottle-fed.

The study shows breastfeeding is associated with a lower than average body mass index (BMI) and a higher than average HDL (high-density lipoprotein or “good” cholesterol) – both protect against CVD.
 

Researchers looked at data from two generations of volunteers who took part in the Framingham Heart Study. Participants included 393 mothers and 962 of their offspring. Mothers reported whether they breastfed each of their children and for how long.

Results show middle-aged adults who were breastfed as infants were 55 percent more likely to have high rather than low HDL cholesterol.

The report also found breastfed babies had a much lower mean BMI when they became adults.

“The findings show that early environmental exposures have long-term health effects,” study author Nisha I. Parikh, M.D., M.P.H, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, was quoted as saying. “They also underscore that atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease are life-course diseases that have their early roots in life.”

SOURCE: American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions in Orlando, Florida, Nov. 4-7, 2007