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Published on: July 29, 2020
General and abdominal fat outcomes in school-age children associated with infant breastfeeding patterns
Büşra Durmuş1, Denise H M Heppe1, Olta Gishti1
1From the Generation R Study Group (BD, DHMH, OG, RG, and VWVJ) and the Departments of Pediatrics (DHMH, OG, LD, RG, and VWVJ) and Epidemiology (BD, DHMH, OG, AH, LD, RG, and VWVJ), Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands; the Department of Radiology, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands (RM); and Nutricia Research, Utrecht, Netherlands (MA-B and EMvdB).
Insights
Breastfeeding and early solid food introduction impact childhood fat measures. Sociodemographic and lifestyle factors largely explain these associations, suggesting further research into infant diet
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Obesity Research
- Child Development
Background:
- Breastfeeding may offer protection against later-life obesity.
- Limited understanding exists regarding infant feeding's impact on specific fat measures.
- Early life nutrition is crucial for long-term health outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between breastfeeding (duration and exclusivity) and age of solid food introduction with general and abdominal fat in children.
- To explore how these infant feeding practices relate to anthropometric measures and body composition.
- To identify potential mediating factors in the relationship between infant feeding and childhood adiposity.
Main Methods:
- Population-based prospective cohort study of 5063 children.
- Infant feeding data collected via questionnaires.
- Childhood fat measures assessed at median age of 6.0 years using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and ultrasound.
Main Results:
- Shorter breastfeeding duration and earlier solid food introduction were linked to higher general and abdominal fat in initial analyses.
- Introduction of solids at a younger age showed a significant association with increased risk of overweight or obesity.
- After adjusting for sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, the significant trend for early solid food introduction and overweight/obesity risk was no longer apparent.
Conclusions:
- Sociodemographic and lifestyle factors appear to explain the observed associations between infant feeding practices and childhood fat outcomes.
- The specific impact of infant dietary composition on distinct fat measures in later childhood warrants further investigation.
- Understanding these early life influences is key for developing effective obesity prevention strategies.
Background:
Breastfeeding may have a protective effect on the development of obesity in later life. Not much is known about the effects of infant feeding on more-specific fat measures.
Objective:
We examined associations of breastfeeding duration and exclusiveness and age at the introduction of solid foods with general and abdominal fat outcomes in children.
Design:
We performed a population-based, prospective cohort study in 5063 children. Information about infant feeding was obtained by using questionnaires. At the median age of 6.0 y (95% range: 5.7 y, 6.8 y), we measured childhood anthropometric measures, total fat mass and the android:gynoid fat ratio by using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and preperitoneal abdominal fat by using ultrasound.
Results:
We observed that, in the models adjusted for child age, sex, and height only, a shorter breastfeeding duration, nonexclusive breastfeeding, and younger age at the introduction of solid foods were associated with higher childhood general and abdominal fat measures (P-trend < 0.05) but not with higher childhood body mass index. The introduction of solid foods at a younger age but not breastfeeding duration or exclusivity was associated with higher risk of overweight or obesity (OR: 2.05; 95% CI: 1.41, 2.90). After adjustment for family-based sociodemographic, maternal lifestyle, and childhood factors, the introduction of solid food between 4 and 4.9 mo of age was associated with higher risks of overweight or obesity, but the overall trend was not significant.
Conclusions:
Associations of infant breastfeeding and age at the introduction of solid foods with general and abdominal fat outcomes are explained by sociodemographic and lifestyle-related factors. Whether infant dietary composition affects specific fat outcomes at older ages should be further studied.
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