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. 2020 Jul 1:150:104653.
doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2020.104653. Epub 2020 Mar 7.

Is breastfeeding associated with later child eating behaviours?

Wei Wei Pang  1 , Keri McCrickerd  2 , Phaik Ling Quah  2 , Anna Fogel  2 , Izzuddin M Aris  3 , Wen Lun Yuan  4 , Doris Fok  5 , Mei Chien Chua  6 , Sok Bee Lim  7 , Lynette P Shek  8 , Shiao-Yng Chan  9 , Kok Hian Tan  10 , Fabian Yap  11 , Keith M Godfrey  12 , Michael J Meaney  13 , Mary E Wlodek  14 , Johan G Eriksson  9 , Michael S Kramer  15 , Ciarán G Forde  16 , Mary Ff Chong  17 , Yap-Seng Chong  18
Affiliations

Is breastfeeding associated with later child eating behaviours?

Wei Wei Pang et al. Appetite. .

Abstract

Individual differences in children's eating behaviours emerge early. We examined the relationship between breastfeeding exposure and subsequent eating behaviours among children from the Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) cohort. Children (n = 970) were grouped according to their breastfeeding exposure: high (full breastfeeding ≥ 4 months with continued breastfeeding ≥ 6 months), low (any breastfeeding < 3 months or no breastfeeding) and intermediate (between low and high breastfeeding categories). Aspects of eating behaviour from ages 15 months to 6 years were captured using a combination of maternal reports (Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire; Infant Feeding Questionnaire; Preschooler Feeding Questionnaire) and laboratory-based measures of meal size, oral processing behaviours (e.g. average eating speed and bite size) and tendency to eat in the absence of hunger. Most children had low (44%) or intermediate (44%) breastfeeding exposure; only 12% had high exposure. After adjusting for confounders, multivariable linear regression analyses indicated the high (but not intermediate) breastfeeding group was associated with significantly lower reported food fussiness at 3 years compared to low breastfeeding group (-0.38 [-0.70, -0.06]), with similar but non-significant trends observed at 6 years (-0.27 [-0.66, 0.11]). At 3 years, mothers in the high breastfeeding group also reported the least difficulty in child feeding compared to low breastfeeding group (-0.22 [-0.43, -0.01]). However, high breastfeeding was not associated with any other maternal-reports of child feeding or eating behaviours, and no significant associations were observed between breastfeeding exposure and any of the laboratory measures of eating behaviour at any of the time points. These results do not strongly support the view that increased breastfeeding exposure alone has lasting and consistent associations with eating behaviours in early childhood.

Keywords: Breastfeeding; Child eating behaviours; Oral processing; Satiety responsiveness: Food fussiness.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest KMG, LPS, CGF and Y-SC have received reimbursement for speaking at conferences sponsored by companies selling nutritional products. KMG, S-YC and Y-SC are part of an academic consortium that has received research funding from Abbott Nutrition, Nestec and Danone. CGF currently serves on the scientific advisory council for Kerry Taste and Nutrition. The other authors have no financial or personal conflict of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Flowchart of participants included in the current analyses.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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