Abstract
This study assessed the association of breastfeeding with body composition at 30 years, among subjects who have been prospectively followed since birth in a southern Brazilian city. We also evaluated whether breastfeeding moderated the association between the rs9939609 variant in the FTO gene and adiposity. At 30 years, total and predominant breastfeeding were positively associated with lean mass index and inversely with visceral fat thickness. Among subjects breastfed for <1 month, all outcomes showed monotonically increasing values with additional copies of the A allele in the FTO genotype (rs9939609). Associations among subjects breastfed for one month or longer tended to be in the same direction but showed lower magnitude and were less consistent; for all outcomes. Interactions had p values ≤ 0.05 for body mass index, fat mass index and waist circumference. Even among young adults, breastfeeding moderates the association between the FTO variant rs9939609 and body composition.
Highlights
Breastfeeding has clear short-term benefits, reducing morbidity and mortality from infectious diseases[1,2] but breastfeeding may have long-term benefits
It was observed in two Greek cohorts that breastfeeding moderated the association of rs17817449 and rs9939609 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in FTO with adiposity, but these findings were not replicated in the ALSPAC cohort[11]
The FTO SNP rs9939609 was in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (p = 0.69)
Summary
Breastfeeding has clear short-term benefits, reducing morbidity and mortality from infectious diseases[1,2] but breastfeeding may have long-term benefits. A recently published meta-analysis[6] reported a negative association of breastfeeding with overweight/obesity in childhood and adulthood, and the association was still observed among those studies with more than 1500 participants, that controlled for confounding and with a short-term maternal recall of breastfeeding [pooled odds ratio: 0.87 (95% confidence interval: 0.76; 0.99)]. In the Raine cohort-Australia, Abarin et al.[12] observed that breastfeeding attenuated the association of rs9939609 with body mass index in childhood and adolescence These findings reinforce the hypothesis that the programing of satiety control is one of the possible mechanisms for the association between breastfeeding and obesity. Given that such socioeconomic patterning of breastfeeding duration is not present in the 1982 Pelotas (Southern Brazil) birth cohort[25], findings from this cohort would not be susceptible to residual confounding from socioeconomic status
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
