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Inverse association of overweight and breast feeding in 9 to 10-y-old children in Germany

International Journal of Obesity volume 25, pages 1644–1650 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether breast feeding is associated with prevalent overweight in pre-adolescent children.

METHODS: Cross-sectional studies of 9 to 10-y-old children attending fourth grade in 1995/1996 in Dresden (n=1046) and Munich (n=1062), Germany, according to the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) Phase II protocol. A comprehensive questionnaire including detailed breast feeding history was filled out by the child's parent. Height and weight were measured in a random subsample of children undergoing spirometry. Overweight was defined as body mass index ≥90th age- and sex-specific percentile of the German reference.

RESULTS: While the prevalence of overweight differed substantially between Dresden (girls 9.1%, boys 12.5%) and Munich (17% both), we observed a markedly lower overweight prevalence among breast fed than non-breast fed children in both cities. Controlling for age, sex and city, breast-fed children were substantially less likely to be overweight at 9–10 y (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.41–0.74). Results were slightly attenuated after adjustment for nationality, socio-economic status, number of siblings, parental smoking (OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.52–0.87). A longer overall duration and duration of exclusive breast feeding was associated significantly with decreasing prevalence of overweight.

CONCLUSION: The results highlight the importance and possible preventive potential of early nutrition in the development of overweight in children. Both feeding behaviors acquired by the nursing infant and metabolic effects may contribute to the observed inverse association of breast feeding and overweight in children.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the students, their parents, the teachers and secretaries of the schools for their help and co-operation during data collection. The study was funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Muenster, Germany

    AD Liese, U Keil & SK Weiland

  2. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Norman J. Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, USA

    AD Liese

  3. Children's Clinic, Technical University, Dresden, Germany

    T Hirsch & W Leupold

  4. University Children's Hospital, Munich, Germany

    E von Mutius

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  1. AD Liese
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Correspondence to AD Liese.

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Liese, A., Hirsch, T., von Mutius, E. et al. Inverse association of overweight and breast feeding in 9 to 10-y-old children in Germany. Int J Obes 25, 1644–1650 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0801800

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