title: Exclusive breastfeeding for 4 versus 6 months and growth in early childhood.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the growth and the prevalence of overweight in early childhood among infants exclusively breastfed for 6 months (EBF) compared with those receiving complementary foods from 4 months of age in addition to breast milk (CF).
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 119 mother-infant pairs were randomised either in the CF or in the EBF group. Weight, length and head circumference of the infants were measured at birth, 6 weeks, and 3-6 months of age. In the follow-up, the children's weight, length and head circumference were measured at 8, 10, 12 and 18 months and weight and height at 29-38 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were no differences between groups in the anthropometric outcome measures of weight-for-age (p = 0.78), length-for-age (p = 0.59), head-circumference-for-age (p = 0.82) and BMI-for-age (p = 0.61), using repeated measurements ANOVA. Furthermore, no difference was seen in the prevalence between groups in risk of being overweight or in those who were overweight at 18 months and 29-38 months of age.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Exclusive breastfeeding for the first 4 or 6 months of life does not seem to affect the risk of being overweight or the prevalence of those who were overweight in early childhood.
authors.affiliation: Unit for Nutrition Research, Landspitali - The National University Hospital of Iceland and Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition, School of Health Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland.
authors.forename: Olof H
authors.initials: OH
authors.lastname: Jonsdottir
authors.forename: Ronald E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Kleinman
authors.forename: Jonathan C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Wells
authors.forename: Mary S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Fewtrell
authors.forename: Patricia L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Hibberd
authors.forename: Geir
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gunnlaugsson
authors.forename: Inga
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Thorsdottir
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry; D001942:Breast Feeding; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D006801:Humans; D007055:Iceland / Q000453:epidemiology; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Complementary feeding; Exclusive breastfeeding; Growth; Overweight; Randomised trial