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Breast-feeding as ‘personalized nutrition’

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 72, pages 1234–1238 (2018)Cite this article

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Health benefits of breast-feeding have been recognised since antiquity [1], and yet with every passing decade, our scientific understanding of breast-feeding as a mode of nutrition seems to accelerate rather than reach a ‘final plateau’. We already have compelling evidence that it matters, yet we also have much to discover about how exactly breast-feeding functions as a biological process, how and why it varies between mother–infant dyads, and what this means for promoting successful breast-feeding to the benefit of mothers and infants. Breast-feeding is arguably the ultimate ‘biosocial’ trait, simultaneously linking complex physiological processes with multiple components of behaviour in both mother and offspring that are amenable to cultural influences [2].

Breast-feeding provides nutrition for functions that extend far beyond somatic growth, and has implications for development of the brain, gut and immune function, as well as cellular health [3]. Breast-feeding confers multiple health benefits on the offspring, including protection from infections, increased intelligence and probable protection against obesity and diabetes, as well as reducing risks of breast cancer and diabetes in the mother [4].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Childhood Nutrition Research Centre, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London, WC1N 1EH, UK

    Jonathan C. K. Wells

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Correspondence to Jonathan C. K. Wells.

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Wells, J.C.K. Breast-feeding as ‘personalized nutrition’. Eur J Clin Nutr 72, 1234–1238 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-018-0206-y

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