A KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) study on breastfeeding practices revealed that among the women who exclusively breastfed, those with high body mass index2] (BMI) before pregnancy lost more weight than women with a healthy BMI pre-pregnancy. Women with high BMI who exclusively breastfed, in addition to losing their pregnancy weight, lost an extra 200 grammes on average, 12 months after childbirth. Women with normal BMI who exclusively breastfed lost weight but continued to retain about 1,330 grams of their postnatal weight during the same period.
Regardless of BMI, all women practicing exclusively breastfeeding tended to retain less weight than those who practiced mixed feeding or exclusively formula feeding. Refer to Annex A, Figure 1. Most women with normal BMI gain an average of 11 to 16 kilograms during pregnancy.
In this year-long study, we made an interesting discovery - an additional benefit for women with high BMI. Due to hormonal factors, there is a re-distribution and management of their body fat to the extent that there is an opportunity for them to lose more than the postnatal weight gain." Dr.
Loy See Ling, Study Lead Author and Assistant Professor, Department of Reproductive Medicine, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital She added, "This is of particular interest in Singapore where we are facing a rising obesity rate at 10.5 per cent in a year. Encouraging exclusive breastfeeding alongside targeted lifestyle changes may serve as an effective interven.