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Body Image Dissatisfaction, Obesity and Their Associations with Breastfeeding in Mexican Women, a Cross-Sectional Study

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Introduction In Mexico the breastfeeding rate is low and the obesity rate is high. Body image concerns, particularly prevalent in obese women, are associated with low breastfeeding rate; however, this association has never been examined in Mexican women. To fill this need, we examined the association between body image dissatisfaction (BID) and breastfeeding across levels of maternal weight status in Mexican women. Methods A cross-sectional study was used, utilizing data from the Mexican National Health and Nutrition Survey (ENSANUT) for 2012. The breastfeeding (Never or breastfed less than 30 days, Still breastfeeding, Ever breastfed) of the last child (age ≤ 3 years), BID (Stunkard Figure Rating Scale), anthropometric (Body Mass Index, BMI), and associated characteristics were collected. Weighted-multinomial logistic regression models were utilized to examine the adjusted association between BID and breastfeeding and the effect modification of maternal weight status. Results Overall, 2422 women aged 20–49 years met the eligibility criteria. Of these, 247 (10.8%) had never breastfed or breastfed less than 30 days, 826 (32%) were still breastfeeding, and 1349 (57.2%) had breastfed. A total of 38.2% were overweight (25 ≤ BMI < 30 kg m2) and 26.2% were obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg m2). In the adjusted model, while stratifying by maternal weight status levels, a greater BID was associated with a lower odds of sill breastfeeding (OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.45–0.75) and having breastfed (OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.50–0.83) only among women with BMI ≥ 30 kg m2. Discussion The results highlight the potential relationship between body image concerns and breastfeeding in Mexican women with obesity. However, the causality of such relationship needs further investigation, ideally using a longitudinal study design.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Epidemiology, Human Genetics & Environmental Sciences, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Austin Regional Campus, 1616 Guadalupe, Austin, TX, 78701, USA

    Galya Bigman & Anna V. Wilkinson

  2. Management Policy and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Texas, El Paso, TX, USA

    Nuria Homedes

  3. Biostatistics and Data Science, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Austin Regional Campus, 1616 Guadalupe, Austin, TX, 78701, USA

    Adriana Pérez

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  1. Galya Bigman
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  2. Anna V. Wilkinson
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Correspondence to Galya Bigman.

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Bigman, G., Wilkinson, A.V., Homedes, N. et al. Body Image Dissatisfaction, Obesity and Their Associations with Breastfeeding in Mexican Women, a Cross-Sectional Study. Matern Child Health J 22, 1815–1825 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-018-2583-1

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