Early Childhood Healthy and Obese Weight Status: Potentially Protective Benefits of Breastfeeding and Delaying Solid Foods

The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between breastfeeding and postponing introduction to solid food (SF) on children’s obesity and healthy weight status (WS), at 2 and 4 years. Drawing upon a nationally representative sample of children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Bi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Maternal and child health journal 2014-07, Vol.18 (5), p.1224-1232
Main Authors:	Moss, Brian G., Yeaton, William H.
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Anthropometry Body Weight Breast feeding Breast Feeding - statistics & numerical data Child Development Child, Preschool Feeding Methods Female Gynecology Health aspects Humans Infant Infant Food Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena Longitudinal Studies Male Maternal and Child Health Medicine Medicine & Public Health Obesity in children Pediatric Obesity - epidemiology Pediatric Obesity - prevention & control Pediatrics Population Economics Prevention Public Health Risk factors Sociology Time Factors United States Weaning
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Summary:	The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between breastfeeding and postponing introduction to solid food (SF) on children’s obesity and healthy weight status (WS), at 2 and 4 years. Drawing upon a nationally representative sample of children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort, we estimated the magnitude of the relationship between children’s WS and early feeding practices. Contingency tables and multinomial logistic regression were used to analyze obese and healthy WS for breastfed and never breastfed children and examine three timing categories for SF introduction. With both percentages and odds, breastfeeding and delaying introduction to SF until 4 months were associated with lower obesity rates and higher, healthy WS rates (typically 5–10 %). Analyses of feeding practice combinations revealed that when children were not breastfed, obesity odds decreased when SF introduction was postponed until 4 months. Obesity odds were further reduced when SF delay was combined with breastfeeding. Consistent increases in healthy WS were also observed. Benefits were stable across both follow-up periods. Breastfeeding and delaying complementary foods yielded consistently and substantially lower likelihood of obesity and greater probability of healthy WS. Health policies targeting early feeding practices represent promising interventions to decrease preschool obesity and promote healthy WS.
ISSN:	1092-7875 1573-6628