High-intensity Exercise Increases the Quality of Human Breast Milk

 

Breast Milk

A hormone called adiponectin regulates the body's metabolism to ensure the supply of energy and substances that the body needs to function. It is likely that this hormone has some effect on the functioning of children's metabolism.

Since time immemorial, women have breastfed their children, but scientific research on how exercise affects breast milk has been surprisingly scarce. This knowledge gap has led to a multitude of questions among pregnant women and new mothers on online forums.

Researcher Trine Moholdt from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), leader of several research projects on the impact of exercise on health, is addressing these questions. Recently, Moholdt received considerable funding to explore whether maternal exercise can influence infant health through the composition of breast milk.

“The main goal of our research is to find out if we can limit the development of overweight in children,” says Moholdt. With 39 million children under five years old overweight or obese, according to the World Health Organization, understanding how early nutrition, including breast milk, affects obesity risk is crucial.

Is there a connection between breastfeeding and childhood overweight?

Moholdt's study, involving twenty new mothers, examines how exercise affects the composition of breast milk. After two exercise sessions, a notable change was found in the concentration of a hormone called adiponectin. This hormone, crucial for regulating metabolism and preventing insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, appears to increase in breast milk after intense exercise sessions.

“Intense exercise produces a greater response,” says Moholdt, noting that moderate exercise did not have the same effect on the hormone. These findings suggest that the type of exercise plays a crucial role in the composition of breast milk and, therefore, the metabolic health of the baby.

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The connection between breastfeeding and the prevention of childhood overweight has long been the subject of research. The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life due to its many benefits, including a reduced likelihood of obesity in childhood.

However, this new research suggests that the composition of breast milk may vary depending on the mother's body mass index, which could influence the child's risk of obesity.

“We now have the first result of all the work we are doing, and there are many more results on the way,” says Moholdt enthusiastically. This discovery could pave the way for specific interventions, such as maternal exercise, to prevent childhood obesity as early as breastfeeding.

Although these findings are promising, Moholdt emphasizes the need for more research in this area. With a greater understanding of the impact of exercise on breast milk composition, health professionals could offer more specific recommendations for mothers who want to optimize their children's health from the beginning.