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Does breastfeeding duration decrease child obesity? An instrumental variables analysis

S Modrek1, S Basu1, M Harding2

  • 1Stanford University, School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA.

Pediatric Obesity
|May 11, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Breastfeeding is linked to lower child obesity risk. This study used instrumental variables to show that each extra week of breastfeeding reduced obesity likelihood by 0.82% at age two.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Public Health
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Breastfeeding is associated with reduced child obesity risk.
  • Unobservable confounders complicate understanding the breastfeeding-obesity link.
  • This study addresses confounding factors in breastfeeding research.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the effect of breastfeeding practices on child weight outcomes at age 2.
  • To isolate the causal impact of breastfeeding on childhood obesity.
  • To investigate the influence of breastfeeding duration on obesity risk.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized population-based data from Oregon births in 2009.
  • Employed instrumental variables methods to address confounding.
  • Exploited variations in immediate postpartum breastfeeding and hospital encouragement.

Main Results:

  • Each additional week of breastfeeding decreased obesity likelihood by 0.82% at age 2.
  • Each additional week of exclusive breastfeeding reduced obesity likelihood by 0.66%.
  • Findings were robust across various analytical specifications, though marginally significant.

Conclusions:

  • Hospital practices supporting breastfeeding may impact childhood weight.
  • Evidence suggests a modest, yet robust, protective effect of breastfeeding against obesity.
  • Further research into hospital-based interventions for promoting breastfeeding is warranted.
Abstract

Keywords:
Breastfeedingchild obesityhospital practicesinstrumental variable analysis

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