The Relationship between Breastfeeding and Body Mass Index in Primary School Children of Rasht/Iran

Nowadays in many parts of the world, obesity and overweight problems in children is considered essential. Overweight in childhood has been known as a factor affecting on the overweight in adult ages and the incidence of cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, asthma and diabetes. Considering of the risky role of increasing of weight for children’s health, researchers aimed to determine the relationship between breastfeeding and Body Mass Index in primary school children of Rasht/Iran. This was a case-control study which after obtaining the necessary licenses was performed in 8 primary schools of Rasht. 320 samples including 80 in case group (BMI≥85th percentile for age and sex) and 240 in control group (BMI=5th to 85th percentile for age and sex) were selected. Data gathering tool were questionnaire, scales and tape meter. Finally, data were analyzed statistically by Chi-square and Mann-Whitney tests. The findings showed that the mean and standard deviation of total duration of breastfeeding in case group were 19.02±9.14 and in control group were 19.36±8.66, and there was no significant difference between these means. On the other hand, 82.5 percent of the samples in case group and 92.9 percent in control group had exclusive breastfeeding for 4-6 months and it showed significant difference (P=0.024). The mean and standard deviation of meals frequency, duration of television watching, sleep duration of day and night and start time for complementary feeding in case and control group showed no significant statistical difference. In this study, the average of duration of breastfeeding (up to 2 years and more) in overweight and obese group was lower than the average in group with normal weight, but this difference was not statistically significant. On the other hand, the percent of children that had exclusive breastfeeding for 4-6 months in normal weight group was significantly more than overweight and obese children. In other words, this study showed that exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months after birth can be associated with reducing overweight and obesity in primary school children. On this basis, we can probably help to prevent overweight and obesity in children in the future by teaching more and more accurate about exclusive breastfeeding for parents, especially mothers and health care providers.