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Birth weight and breastfeeding are differentially associated with physical fitness components

Laurent Béghin1, Jérémy Vanhelst2, Elodie Drumez3

  • 1Univ. Lille, Inserm, CHU Lille, U1286 - INFINITE - Institute for Translational Research in Inflammation, and CIC 1403 - Clinical Investigation Center, F-59000, Lille, France. laurent.beghin@chu-lille.fr.

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition
|November 13, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Birth weight positively influences muscular power in adolescents, while longer breastfeeding duration enhances muscular explosivity. These factors impact adolescent physical fitness differently.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Health
  • Adolescent Physiology
  • Sports Science

Background:

  • Neonatal factors like birth weight and breastfeeding duration may influence long-term physical development.
  • Understanding these early-life influences is crucial for optimizing adolescent health and athletic potential.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of birth weight and breastfeeding duration on specific components of physical fitness in adolescents.
  • To differentiate the effects of these early-life factors on muscular power and explosivity.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from the HELENA study, including 985 boys and 1246 girls aged 12.5-17.5 years.
  • Assessed physical fitness through standardized tests for cardio-respiratory fitness, flexibility, upper body muscular strength, and lower body explosive strength.
  • Analyzed associations between parental-reported birth weight and breastfeeding duration with fitness outcomes using linear mixed models.

Main Results:

  • Unadjusted analyses showed associations between muscular strength and breastfeeding duration in boys.
  • After adjusting for confounders, lower body muscular strength (standing broad jump) remained positively associated with breastfeeding duration.
  • Upper body muscular strength (hand grip) showed significant associations with breastfeeding duration in both boys and girls.

Conclusions:

  • Birth weight and breastfeeding duration exert distinct influences on adolescent muscular strength.
  • Birth weight appears to positively impact the development of muscular power.
  • Breastfeeding duration is positively associated with enhanced muscular explosivity in adolescents.
Abstract

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