by Amy Spangler
March 10, 2008

What do overweight adolescents have in common? According to researchers at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, perhaps more than we think.

Woo and colleagues investigated the association between length of breastfeeding and body mass index (BMI). The results of their study are published in the March 2008 issue of Pediatrics.

Study participants included 739 black and white 10- to 19-year-old adolescents. Data show that black adolescents and adolescents with less educated parents had higher average BMI compared to white individuals or adolescents with at least one college-educated parent.

When being breastfed for more than four months was added to the multivariable regression analyses, it was found to be significantly associated with lower BMI. Those who had been breastfed for more than four months had a lower average BMI and were less likely to be overweight. In addition, black youth and those without a college-educated parent were less likely to have been breastfed for greater than four months.

Lower rates of breastfeeding may help explain why minority and disadvantaged children have higher obesity rates. Race, parental education, and being breastfed for more than four months were found to be independent predictors of BMI greater than the 85th percentile (at risk for overweight) and the 95th percentile (overweight).

More than one-third of U.S. adults (72 million people) are overweight or obese, with minority and economically disadvantaged children disproportionately represented. More than 40 percent of black adolescents aged 12 to 19 years are at risk for overweight compared with 26 percent of white teens.

“If breastfeeding lies in the pathway between social disadvantage and increased adiposity, then changing breastfeeding behavior may reduce these underlying adiposity differences by race or socioeconomic status, providing a useful tool for reducing disparities and decreasing overweight,” said Woo.