[Breastfeeding, complementary feeding and risk of childhood obesity]

Luis Sandoval Jurado1, María Valeria Jiménez Báez1, Sibli Olivares Juárez2

  • 1Coordinación Auxiliar Médica de Investigación en Salud, Cancún, Quintana Roo, México.

Atencion Primaria
|February 17, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Exclusive breastfeeding for less than three months significantly increases the risk of obesity in preschool children. This finding highlights the importance of adequate breastfeeding duration for preventing childhood obesity.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Nutrition
  • Public Health
  • Childhood Obesity Research

Background:

  • Childhood obesity is a growing global health concern with long-term implications.
  • Breastfeeding practices are recognized as a crucial factor influencing infant and child health outcomes.
  • Understanding the relationship between breastfeeding patterns and obesity risk in early childhood is vital for preventive strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between breastfeeding and weaning patterns and the risk of obesity in preschool children.
  • To analyze the duration of breastfeeding and the timing of complementary feeding introduction in relation to nutritional status.

Main Methods:

  • A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted in Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico.
  • Participants included 116 preschool children aged 2-4 years from a Primary Care Unit.
  • Data collected included breastfeeding duration, age of complementary feeding, and nutritional status assessed by Body Mass Index (BMI) percentiles. Statistical analyses included prevalence ratios, odds ratios, and logistic regression.

Main Results:

  • Obesity was prevalent in 62.1% of the studied children.
  • Exclusive breastfeeding was reported in 72.4% of cases, with a mean duration of 2.3 months.
  • A prevalence ratio of 3.9 indicated that exclusive breastfeeding of less than three months was associated with a nearly fourfold increased risk of obesity.

Conclusions:

  • Exclusive breastfeeding for less than three months is a significant risk factor for obesity in preschool children.
  • Differences in complementary feeding age and breastfeeding duration were observed between obese and non-obese children.
  • These findings underscore the importance of promoting adequate breastfeeding duration for obesity prevention in early childhood.
Abstract

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