Exclusive breastfeeding duration and later intake of vegetables in preschool children

To examine whether a relationship exists between exclusive breastfeeding duration and later vegetable consumption in 4-year-old children, independently of factors traditionally associated with children's vegetable intake.

A longitudinal study using information collected on children's food consumption patterns and behaviors from a representative sample of children born in 1998 in the province of Québec, Canada. Face-to-face interviews and self-administered questionnaires were addressed to children's mothers and fathers. From the first group of children (n=2100) included in the cohort, a subsample of 4-year-old children participated in a nutrition substudy (n=1549).

Children whose mothers held a university degree had odds of 8.7 (95% CI: 4.23-17.93) for consuming two or more servings of vegetables a day at 4 years of age (vs less than one serving per day) in comparison to children of mothers with no high school diploma. Likewise, children who were exclusively breastfed for 3 or more months had odds of 2.6 (95% CI: 1.34-5.02, with 3 to <4 months of exclusive breastfeeding) and 1.9 (95% CI: 1.01-3.61, with 4 or more months of exclusive breastfeeding) for consuming two or more servings of vegetables per day (vs less than one serving per day) in comparison to children who were formula-fed and/or partially breastfed (no exclusive breastfeeding).

The findings suggest that three or more months of exclusive breastfeeding is a predictive factor for higher vegetable consumption in preschool children.