OBJECTIVES. Studies suggest that breastfeeding is protective for later obesity; however, this association has not held among all racial and socioeconomic status groups. Racial and socioeconomic status differences in breastfeeding behavior have also been noted. In this study, we formally test whether breastfeeding mediates the relationship between race and socioeconomic status with adolescent adiposity.
METHODS. Data were analyzed from 739 black and white 10- to 19-year-old adolescents who participated in a large, school-based study. Parents provided information on parental education, used to measure socioeconomic status, and whether the child was breastfed as an infant. BMI was used to measure adolescent adiposity and was analyzed as a continuous measure (BMI z score) using linear regression and categorically (BMI ≥85th and ≥95th percentile) using logistic regression.
RESULTS. Black adolescents and those without a college-educated parent were less likely to have been breastfed for >4 months. Race and parental education were each independent predictors of BMI z score and of having BMI ≥85th percentile or BMI ≥95th percentile. When added to the model, being breastfed for >4 months was also independently associated with lower BMI z score and lower odds of having BMI ≥85th percentile or BMI ≥95th percentile. Inclusion of being breastfed for >4 months resulted in a 25% decrease in racial and parental education differences in adolescent BMI z score, supporting partial mediation.
CONCLUSIONS. Having been breastfed for >4 months was associated with lower adolescent BMI z score and lower odds of having a BMI ≥85th percentile or BMI ≥95th percentile, independent of race or parental education. Furthermore, these analyses suggest that being breastfed for >4 months partially explains the relationship between social disadvantage and increased adiposity. Increasing breastfeeding duration could result in lower adolescent adiposity for all racial and socioeconomic status groups and potentially minimize socioeconomic disparities in adiposity.
Woo and colleagues have performed an interesting and thoughtful analysis that helps elucidate the relationship between racial/ socioeconomic status, breastfeeding in infancy and adolescent BMI. I wonder if there is study data on maternal or paternal BMI? This variable is a key predictor of offspring BMI, and may be as important as breastfeeding in predicting childhood BMI (1,2). Since there are significant racial disparities in the rates of both maternal obesity and breastfeeding in the US, maternal BMI may explain more differences in adolescent BMI than breastfeeding (3,4). Could the authors address this issue?
1. Li C, Kaur H, Choi WS, Huang TT, Lee RE, Ahluwalia JS. Additive interactions of maternal prepregnancy BMI and breast-feeding on childhood overweight. Obes Res. 2005 Feb;13(2):362-71.
2. Dubois L, Girard M. Early determinants of overweight at 4.5 years in a population-based longitudinal study. Int J Obes (Lond). 2006 Apr;30(4):610-7.
3. Ogden CL, Carrroll MD, McDowell MA, et al. Obesity in adults in the United States. NCHS data Brief. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db01.pdf. Accessed 3-9-08.
4. Centers for Disease Control. Racial and socioeconomic disparities in breastfeeding - United States 2004. MMWR Weekly Report March 31, 2006 / 55(12);335-339. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5512a3.htm. Accessed 3-9-08.
Conflict of Interest:
None declared