title: Interactive Effects of Early Exclusive Breastfeeding and Pre-Pregnancy Maternal Weight Status on Young Children's BMI - A Chinese Birth Cohort.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess if the maternal pre-pregnancy weight status (MPWS) alters the association of early infant feeding pattern (at one and third months) with infant body mass index (BMI) in the first two years of life.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cohort of 2,220 neonates were recruited in a community-based study conducted in China. Body weight and length were measured at birth, at age one and two, with BMI calculated accordingly. The BMI z-scores (BMI-Z) were computed according to the World Health Organization Growth Standard (2006). Feeding patterns were classified as exclusive breastfeeding (EBF), mixed feeding (MF), and formula feeding (FF). General linear models (GLM) were employed to estimate main and interaction effects of EBF and MPWS on children's BMI-Z.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No main effect of MPWS was found on child BMI-Z at ages one and two, nor the feeding patterns. An interaction between MPWS and feeding patterns was detected (p<0.05). For children who were formula fed during the first month, those who were born to overweight/obesity (OW/OB) mothers had a significantly greater BMI-Z at ages one and two, compared with those with underweight/normal weight (UW/NW) mothers. FF children had greater BMI-Z at ages one and two compared with their EBF and MF counterparts, when they were born to OW/OB mothers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Maternal pre-pregnancy weight control and early initiation of EBF for children are essential for healthy development in children's BMI, hence the prevention of early life obesity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mei
authors.affiliation: Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Bingbing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: The Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Zhuhai City, Zhuhai, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Baomin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: The People's Hospital of Zhuhai City, Zhuhai, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Xiong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Adair
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America.
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.affiliation: Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Jianduan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D001942:Breast Feeding; D002681:China; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D007223:Infant; D041943:Infant Formula; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers; D009765:Obesity; D050177:Overweight; D011247:Pregnancy