There’s good evidence that when mothers choose to breastfeed all of our society benefits from lower health costs. What if we could acknowledge this benefit with a tangible reward to mothers for this service? Michael F. Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, makes this suggestion as part of a wish list of actions that our government could take to combat the obesity epidemic.

“Breastfed infants…tend to gain less unnecessary weight and to be leaner. This may result in being less overweight later in life,” says the government,which could mount campaigns to encourage moms to breastfeed for at least six months, maybe even offering bonuses to those who do.

For the entire wish list, see this article in the Nutrition Action Healthletter.