Breast-Feeding Tied to Reduced Child Obesity
Large Japanese study looked at schoolchildren aged 7 and 8.
Breast-feeding may reduce children's risk of being overweight or obese, a large new study from Japan found.
Researchers looked at more than 43,000 children, aged 7 and 8, with records of how they were fed during infancy.
The investigators first took into account other factors that could influence the children's weight, such as gender and the amount of time they spent in front of the television or computer, as well as their mothers' education levels, smoking and employment status.
Children who were breast-fed at 6 months to 7 months of age were less likely to be overweight than those who were formula-fed, the researchers concluded.
After adjusting for potential confounders, we demonstrated that breast-feeding is associated with decreased risk of overweight and obesity among school children in Japan, and the protective association is stronger for obesity than overweight.
Although the study found an association between being exclusively breast-fed in infancy and a lower risk of obesity or overweight in young children, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.
Source: HealthDay News
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