Book Section #18159

Abstract

Current evidence reported that non-communicable diseases (NCDs) including cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes originate from early life. NCDs are usually caused by interaction of genetic factors, gender, age, ethnicity, environmental exposures, and lifestyle behaviors. Breastfeeding is perfectly designed for the child’s nutritional needs and it is the most advantageous feeding option for infants. In addition to its short-term benefits, it has several beneficial effects for prevention of NCDs for both mothers and children. Breast milk provides all the energy and nutrients that infants need for the first six months of life and is critical for sustaining the health of newborns and infants. Despite the beneficial effects of breastfeeding, it is still below the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation in many countries. Many studies showed long-term protective effects of adequate breastfeeding during infancy on NCDs particularly on hypertension, obesity, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and cardiovascular diseases at individual and population levels. However, there are controversial findings about these effects. Recall bias for exclusivity and duration of breastfeeding and low availability of infant nutrition data in retrospective cohorts may lead to inconsistent results between studies. The primordial prevention of NCDs should start with an emphasis on improving breastfeeding practices. This chapter aims to summarize the current literature on the long-term effects of breastfeeding on prevention of NCDs and their risk factors. © 2020 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.