Breastfeeding and obesity: cross sectional study

The authors studied the prevalence of obesity and the prevalence of being overweight among 9357 children aged 5 and 6 at the time of school entry. Being overweight was defined as having a body mass index above the 90th centile and obesity as body mass index above the 97th centile of all enrolled German children. A clear dose-response effect was identified for the duration of breastfeeding on the prevalence of obesity and on the prevalence of being overweight. The protective effect of breastfeeding was not attributable to differences in social class or lifestyle