Wells, J.C.K.;
Treleaven, P.;
Cole, T.J.;
(2003)
Anthropometry and body composition of 18 year old men according to duration of breast feeding: birth cohort study from Brazil.
BMJ
, 327
(7420)
pp. 901-905.
10.1136/bmj.327.7420.901.
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Abstract
Objective: To assess the association between duration of breast feeding and measures of adiposity in adolescence. Design: Population based birth cohort study. Setting: Pelotas, a city of 320 000 inhabitants in a relatively developed area in southern Brazil. Participants: All newborn infants in the city's hospitals were enrolled in 1982; 78.8% (2250) of all male participants were located at age 18 years when enrolling in the national army. Main outcome measures: Weight, height, sitting height, subscapular and triceps skinfolds, and body composition (body fat, lean mass). Results: Neither the duration of total breast feeding nor that of predominant breast feeding (breast milk plus non-nutritive fluids) showed consistent associations with anthropometric or body composition indices. After adjustment for confounding factors, the only significant associations were a greater than 50% reduction in obesity among participants breast fed for three to five months compared with all other breastfeeding categories (P = 0.007) and a linear decreasing trend in obesity with increasing duration of predominant breast feeding (P = 0.03). Similar significant effects were not observed for other measures of adiposity. Borderline direct associations also occurred between total duration of breast feeding and adult height (P = 0.06). Conclusions: The significant reduction in obesity among children breast fed for three to five months is difficult to interpret, as no a priori hypothesis existed regarding a protective effect of intermediate duration of breast feeding. The findings indicate that, in this population, breast feeding has no marked protective effect against adolescent adiposity.
Type: | Article |
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Title: | Anthropometry and body composition of 18 year old men according to duration of breast feeding: birth cohort study from Brazil |
Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
DOI: | 10.1136/bmj.327.7420.901 |
Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.327.7420.901 |
Language: | English |
UCL classification: | |
URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/8209 |
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