Infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life, and thereafter continue to be breastfed in combination with suitably nutritious complementary foods for up to two years of age or beyond.
Research in Ireland3 shows that being breastfed for between 13-25 weeks was associated with a 38% reduction in the risk of obesity at nine years of age, while being breastfed for 26 weeks or more was associated with a 51% reduction in the risk of obesity at nine years of age.