Breast-feeding a baby can reduce a woman's chances of developing a condition linked to heart disease and diabetes, research has shown.
Breast-feeding could more than halve the risk of metabolic syndrome, a mix of symptoms including high blood pressure, obesity and cholesterol that, if untreated, can lead to serious illness. The study leader, Dr Erica Gunderson, from the US health care company Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, California, said: "The findings indicate that breast-feeding a child may have lasting favourable effects on a woman's risk factors for later developing diabetes or heart disease." Daily Telegraph, December 4, 2009