Breastfeeding duration and childhood overweight among low-income children in Kansas, 1998-2002.

OBJECTIVES

We sought to determine whether increased duration of breast-feeding was associated with decreased risk of overweight among 4-year-old children in Kansas families with limited means.

METHODS

We linked data on Kansas families from the Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System and Pregnancy Nutrition Surveillance System, 1998 to 2002, to determine breastfeeding duration and weight status at age 4 years. Overweight among 4-year-old children was defined as body mass index-for-age at the 95th percentile and above. Linked analysis included 3692 children. Logistic regression was applied to determine odds of being overweight at each duration of breastfeeding.

RESULTS

Breastfeeding duration considered independently showed a significant protective association with childhood overweight at age 4 years for all non-Hispanics (odds ratio [OR]=0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.55, 0.94) and for Whites only (OR=0.68; CI=0.50, 0.92). When we controlled for other significant risk factors for childhood overweight, the association diminished and was not statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS

Although breastfeeding for longer duration appeared to be protective against overweight among 4-year-old non-Hispanic children, cultural and environmental factors may override this protective benefit.