title: Differences by race and ethnicity in the relationship between breastfeeding and obesity in preschool children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To test the hypothesis that the relationship between breastfeeding and later obesity would differ by race/ethnicity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were obtained from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a prospective birth cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty large US cities in 15 states.
  
  
  METHODS
  The 2146 three-year-old children in the study were born between 1998 and 2000 and were either non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, or Hispanic (any
  
  
  METHODS
  Obesity was defined as having a BMI > or =95th percentile.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty-two percent of the children were ever breastfed and 18% were obese at 3 years of age. After adjustment for covariates (maternal BMI, smoking, age, relationship status, and education, plus the child's birth weight and the household income-to-poverty ratio), the relationship between breastfeeding and the prevalence of obesity was significantly different between White, Black, and Hispanic children (P = .02). The adjusted prevalence of obesity was lower in Hispanic children who were ever breastfed compared to those who were never breastfed (23.3% vs. 33.0%, P=.01), but there was no significant association between breastfeeding and obesity in either White or Black children (16.6% vs. 11.3%, P = .18 for Whites and 18.0% vs. 14.5%, P = .13 for Blacks).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this study we found that the relationship between breastfeeding and obesity differed by race/ethnicity. Future studies examining the relationship between breastfeeding and later adiposity should consider the possibility that this relationship may differ by race/ethnicity.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Hillary L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Burdette
authors.forename: Robert C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Whitaker
mesh_terms: D015992:Body Mass Index; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000208:ethnology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology