Exclusive breastfeeding for 4 versus 6 months and growth in early childhood

AimTo investigate the growth and the prevalence of overweight in early childhood among infants exclusively breastfed for 6months (EBF) compared with those receiving complementary foods from 4months of age in addition to breast milk (CF). MethodsA 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, 6weeks, and 3-6months of age. In the follow-up, the children's weight, length and head circumference were measured at 8, 10, 12 and 18months and weight and height at 29-38months. ResultsThere 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 18months and 29-38months of age. ConclusionExclusive breastfeeding for the first 4 or 6months of life does not seem to affect the risk of being overweight or the prevalence of those who were overweight in early childhood.