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Early weaning and other potential risk factors for overweight among preschool children

Geni Balaban1, Maria Eugênia Farias Almeida Motta, Giselia Alves Pontes Silva

  • 1Federal University of Ceará and School of Medicine of Juazeiro do Norte - Ceará/PE, Brazil. genibalaban@hotmail.com

Clinics (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
|February 27, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Early weaning is not a significant risk factor for childhood overweight when other factors are considered. Maternal overweight, high birth weight, and inactivity are stronger predictors of childhood obesity.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Nutrition
  • Obesity Research
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Childhood overweight is a growing public health concern.
  • Identifying early life risk factors is crucial for prevention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine if early weaning (breastfeeding < 4 months) is a risk factor for overweight in preschool children.
  • To identify other contributing factors to childhood overweight.

Main Methods:

  • A case-control study involving 366 children aged 2-6 years.
  • Overweight defined as body mass index (BMI) for age ≥ 85th percentile.
  • Early weaning was the primary exposure of interest.

Main Results:

  • Early weaning showed a significant association with overweight in univariate analysis (OR=1.69).
  • This association was not significant in multivariate analysis (OR=1.42) after controlling for other variables.
  • Maternal overweight, birth weight ≥ 3,500g, and sedentarism were significant risk factors for overweight.

Conclusions:

  • The protective effect of breastfeeding against overweight was not sustained after adjusting for other factors.
  • Breastfeeding's role in preventing childhood overweight appears less significant than genetic and environmental factors like maternal weight and lifestyle.
Abstract

Keywords:
BreastfeedingChildrenObesityOverweightRisk factor

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