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Published on: February 5, 2019
Associations between exclusive breastfeeding and physical fitness during childhood
Mahmoud Zaqout1, Nathalie Michels2, Wolfgang Ahrens3
1Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, 4K3, Ghent, Belgium. mahmoud.zaqout@ugent.be.
Insights
Exclusive breastfeeding is linked to better physical fitness in children, particularly lower-body strength and flexibility. The duration of exclusive breastfeeding shows varying benefits for different fitness components.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Human Development
- Exercise Physiology
Background:
- Breastfeeding is crucial for infant survival, health, and development, with breast milk recommended exclusively for the first six months.
- Understanding the long-term impacts of breastfeeding on child development, including physical fitness, is essential for public health recommendations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between exclusive breastfeeding and physical fitness performance in children aged 6-11 years.
- To determine if the duration of exclusive breastfeeding influences this association.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study of 2853 European children (ages 6-11) from the IDEFICS cohort.
- Physical fitness assessed included cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, flexibility, balance, and speed.
- Statistical analysis involved multivariate and mixed linear regression, adjusting for numerous covariates like diet, physical activity, and parental factors.
Main Results:
- Exclusive breastfeeding showed a positive association with lower-body explosive strength and flexibility.
- A positive association was observed for balance in boys, but a negative association in girls.
- 1-3 months of exclusive breastfeeding sufficed for lower-body explosive strength benefits, while 4-6 months were needed for flexibility and balance, though these latter effects were attenuated by BMI and physical activity.
Conclusions:
- Exclusive breastfeeding appears to offer a modest improvement in specific physical fitness components, notably lower-body muscle strength.
- These findings suggest a potential pathway through which breastfeeding contributes to children's future health outcomes.
Purpose:
Exposure to breastfeeding improves the survival, health, and development of children; therefore, breast milk is recommended as the exclusive nutrient source for feeding term infants during the first 6 months. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the possible association between exposure to exclusive breastfeeding and physical fitness performance in children and, if so, whether this association is influenced by the breastfeeding duration.
Methods:
A total of 2853 (52.3 % girls) European children from the IDEFICS study aged 6-11 years with complete data on physical fitness (cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, flexibility, balance, speed) and exclusive breastfeeding duration (never, 1-3, 4-6, 7-12 months) were included in the present study. Multivariate and mixed linear regression models were estimated and adjusted for sex, age, birth weight, diet, physical activity, body mass index, and parental factors (age, body mass index, educational attainment).
Results:
We found a positive association between exclusive breastfeeding and lower-body explosive strength (β = 0.034) as well as flexibility (β = 0.028). We also found a positive association between breastfeeding and balance in boys (β = 0.039), while this association was negative in girls (β = -0.029). To improve lower-body explosive strength, 1-3 months of exclusive breastfeeding were enough; a longer duration did not lead to increasing benefit. In contrast, 4-6 months of breastfeeding were necessary to have any benefit on flexibility or balance, although this became nonsignificant after adjustment for body mass index and physical activity.
Conclusions:
Exclusive breastfeeding seems a natural way of slightly improving some physical fitness components (mainly lower-body muscle strength) and thus future health.
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