Original ArticleBreastfeeding and Overweight: Longitudinal Analysis in an Australian Birth Cohort
Section snippets
Methods
Participants in the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort Study were serially recruited between 16 and 20 weeks gestation from the public antenatal clinic at King Edward Memorial Hospital or from nearby private practices in Perth, Western Australia, between 1989 and 1992.11 The initial cohort comprised 2860 live births. All mothers gave written informed consent, and the study was approved by the institutional ethics committee.
Information collected by midwives included birth weight (BW) and
Results
After exclusion of multiple pregnancies, congenital abnormalities, and children born before 37 weeks of gestation, the present analysis comprised 2087 infants at birth, 1710 children at 1 year, 1184 at 3 years, 1480 at 6 years, and 1430 at 8 years in whom weight and height (length) had been measured.
Mothers with tertiary education comprised 7% of non-attenders and 11% of attenders at 1 year (P <.001), 7% and 12%, respectively, at 3 years (P <.001), 17% and 11%, respectively, at 6 years (P
Discussion
Among 1-year-olds in this birth cohort study, which uses longitudinal analyses with data collected prospectively, children breastfed for >12 months were the leanest, whereas those breastfed ≤4 months had the highest mean Z scores for weight-for-length. From 1 to 8 years, BMI Z scores associated with duration of breastfeeding tended to converge and showed no statistically significant differences after adjustment for maternal factors.
Higher rates of overweight in infants breastfed for <3 months
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2022, Economics and Human BiologyCitation Excerpt :Micronutrient supplementation or home fortification is recommended along with breastfeeding (Yue et al., 2019; Luo et al., 2014; Luo et al., 2015). Breastfeeding can improve children’s cognitive abilities (Anderson et al., 1999), reduce the incidences of dysentery, respiratory infection, asthma and other diseases (Heinig, 2001; Gdalevich et al., 2001), and reduce childhood obesity (Butte, 2001; Burke et al., 2005). Breastfeeding also benefits mothers’ postpartum recovery, reduces the risks of cancer and cardiovascular disease, and reduces postpartum depression (Schwarz et al., 2009).
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Supported by the Raine Foundation and Western Australian Health Promotion Foundation (Healthway).