Breastfeeding is associated with waist-to-height ratio in young adults

Abstract

BackgroundThe current study investigated the association between breastfeeding and adult weight distribution using an emerging indicator of weight distribution, the waist-to-height ratio (WHtR).MethodsThe study sample consisted of two subsamples of individuals that were part of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. One sample (n = 1 179) consisted of individuals from the sibling pair data. A second sample (n = 4 648) consisted of individuals that were not part of the paired data. Regression models were constructed to establish if there was a relationship between breastfeeding and two measures of weight distribution: WHtR and body mass index (BMI). Controls for parental socioeconomic status, maternal smoking, race, sex, age, birth weight, maternal BMI, genetic ancestry, and a genetic risk score (GRS) for obesity were included. In addition, a behavioral risk score (BRS) was constructed to control for other residual confounding factors.ResultsA significant, inverse relationship between breastfeeding and adult WHtR persisted in models constructed from the sibling pair sample (P = 0.002) and unrelated sample (P <0.0001). This association remained significant with the inclusion of ancestry principal components, GRS, and a measure of maternal obesity.ConclusionsThe moderate association between breastfeeding and weight distribution persists into adulthood while controlling for potential confounders. This paper also provides evidence that the WHtR may be a superior outcome measure to BMI in studies investigating breastfeeding and obesity.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-015-2611-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Examining Associations between Perinatal and Postnatal Risk Factors for Childhood Obesity Using Sibling Comparisons

“…Our findings contribute to the small body of literature using sibling-pair designs to test risk factors for obesity across the life course. Within-family studies examining the association between breastfeeding and obesity have been conducted across the largest number of cohorts, with three studies finding that breastfeeding was protective 23,26,27 and four studies finding no effect. 21,22,24,25 While the recent review by Albers et al, 30 which combined data from five studies, and one more recent study, 31 concluded that smoking during pregnancy increased risk for obesity, we found no evidence of associations between prenatal smoking and childhood obesity at age 2 or 5.…”

“…In research across all risk factors, some studies used fixed effects models, [21][22][23]33,39 while others compared betweenfamily and within-family estimates. [24][25][26][27][28]31,32,40 We previously used the Linked CENTURY Study to examine the relationship between cesarean delivery and BMI z-scores at 5 years of age by decomposing the total association into In the breastfeeding analysis, there were 1006 sibling sets (2260 individuals), in which there was variability in childhood obesity. In the cesarean delivery analysis, there were 1008 sibling sets (2263 individuals).…”

“…We found seven studies that used sibling analyses to examine the effects of breastfeeding initiation and duration on later obesity, with inconsistent results across cohorts. [21][22][23][24][25][26][27] We identified two studies using a within-family analysis that examined the association between cesarean delivery and obesity outcomes, with one finding evidence for an increased risk 28 and the other reporting no effect. 29 A recent review of five studies using sibling data found evidence for a dose-response relationship between the number of cigarettes a mother smoked daily during pregnancy and offspring BMI z-score, suggesting the association may be independent of confounding factors.…”

Unequal Distribution of Overweight Adolescents in Immigrant-Rich Areas: Analysis of Disparities among Public and Private School Students in Shanghai, China

“…Birth-related factors consisted of birth weight (overweight: ≥4 kg, non-overweight: <4 kg) [12], gestational age (≥42 weeks, <42 weeks) [19], and whether or not the child was breastfed (yes or no) [20]. …”

The Duration, Frequency, and Volume of Exclusive Human Milk and/or Infant Formula Consumption and Overweight and Obesity: A Systematic Review

“…Thirty articles, published between 2003 and 2019, were identified that met the inclusion criteria and examined ever, compared with never, consuming human milk and overweight and/or obesity. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][14][15][16][17][19][20][21][22]26,27,[30][31][32][35][36][37][39][40][41] They presented evidence from 21 independent studies. Four of the 21 studies were also described in the section about evidence from siblings (i.e., Linked CENTURY Study, Children of NLSY79, Add Health, and CDS).…”