ATLANTA—A study published in the February issue of the Journal of Nutrition reveals findings that may help explain why some studies examining breastfed infants during the first year of life suggest a protective effect of breastfeeding and obesity, whereas other studies examining the relationship later in life found no effect.
David Barker, MD, PhD, professor of clinical epidemiology at the University of Southampton, UK and professor of Cardiovascular in the Department of Medicine at the Oregon Health and Science University and other nutrition experts presented their findings at the American Society for Nutrition’s 2008 annual meeting. During the session, “Infant Feeding and the Development of Obesity: What Does the Science Tell Us?” international infant nutrition experts presented recent research that employed new methodology, such as randomized clinical trials, as well as sibling pair analysis.
“A longer period of breastfeeding was associated with lower BMI at age 1. This relationship disappeared by the age 7,” Baker said, adding there was no significant difference in BMI at age 60 associated with duration of breastfeeding.
