BMJ  2003;327 (18 October), doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7420.0-c

Breast feeding and adolescent obesity are not clearly linked

Two studies in this issue show no protective effect of breast feeding against obesity in adolescence. In a large prospective study that followed more than 2000 male Brazilians from birth to a medical examination in the army at age 18 years, Victora and colleagues (p 901) found no clear association between the duration of exclusive or predominant breast feeding and several measures of fatness, including overweight, obesity, and body composition. Nevertheless, breast feeding brings many advantages to young children and their mothers and must continue to be supported, the authors say. Li and colleagues (p 904) analysed data from a British cohort of 2584 children. After correcting for potential confounding factors they found no evidence that breast feeding influenced body mass index and obesity. Despite the importance of promoting breast feeding, the authors say a beneficial effect on obesity is still equivocal.

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Relevant Articles

Anthropometry and body composition of 18 year old men according to duration of breast feeding: birth cohort study from Brazil

Cesar G Victora, Fernando Barros, Rosângela C Lima, Bernardo L Horta, and Jonathan Wells
BMJ 2003 327: 901. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Breast feeding and obesity in childhood: cross sectional study

L Li, T J Parsons, and C Power
BMJ 2003 327: 904-905. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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