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Association of exclusive breastfeeding duration with consumption of ultra-processed foods, fruit and vegetables in Brazilian children

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Abstract

Background

There has been little evidence of the influence of breastfeeding on childhood eating habits.

Aim

To evaluate the association between duration of exclusive breastfeeding (EB) and consumption of ultra-processed foods, fruits and vegetables by Brazilian children.

Methods

This is a cross-sectional study nested in a cohort of 403 children age 4–7 years. Food consumption was evaluated by three food records and the foods were grouped by the amount of processing involved (minimal, including fruit and vegetables to ultra-processed foods). Adjusted linear and multinomial regression models were proposed to evaluate the association of EB with children’s food intake. Median duration of EB was 4.0 (2.0–6.0) months and the prevalence of EB of 4 months or more was 60.9%.

Results

Mean energy consumption was 1536 kcal/day, 38% of energy was from ultra-processed foods. Mean intake of fruit and vegetables was 130 g/day. For each 1-month increase in duration of EB there was a 0.7% decrease in energy from ultra-processed foods (β: − 0.7; 95% CI: − 1.3 to 0.1; p = 0.038). EB of less than 4 months was associated with the child being in the lowest tercile for consumption of fruit and vegetables (Adjusted OR: 1.8; 95% CI: 1.1–3.0; p = 0.030) and the highest for consumption of ultra-processed foods (adjusted OR: 1.7; 95% CI: 1.1–2.9; p = 0.040).

Conclusions

In addition to other benefits of EB, we emphasize its importance for the formation of healthy eating habits, contributing to a higher consumption of fruit and vegetables and lower consumption of ultra-processed foods in childhood.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the mothers of the children who participated in our study and the hospital staff who collaborated with the data collection. Thanks also to all data collection team.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Federal University of Maranhão (UFMA), São Luís, Brazil

    Poliana Cristina de Almeida Fonseca

  2. Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES), Vitória, Brazil

    Sarah Aparecida Vieira Ribeiro

  3. Federal Institute of Ouro Preto (IFOP), Ouro Preto, Brazil

    Cristiana Santos Andreoli

  4. Federal Institute of Maranhão (IFMA), São Luís, Brazil

    Carolina Abreu de Carvalho

  5. Department of Nutrition, School of Nursing, Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil

    Carolina Abreu de Carvalho & Milene Cristine Pessoa

  6. Federal University of Viçosa (UFV), Viçosa, Brazil

    Juliana Farias de Novaes, Silvia Eloisa Priore & Sylvia do Carmo Castro Franceschini

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  1. Poliana Cristina de Almeida Fonseca
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Correspondence to Poliana Cristina de Almeida Fonseca.

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Fonseca, P.C.d.A., Ribeiro, S.A.V., Andreoli, C.S. et al. Association of exclusive breastfeeding duration with consumption of ultra-processed foods, fruit and vegetables in Brazilian children. Eur J Nutr 58, 2887–2894 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-018-1840-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-018-1840-9

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