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Comparison of BMI and Percent Body Fat in Exclusively Breastfeeding Mothers versus Mixed Feeding Mothers
Author(s) -
McDougald Dawn Michele,
Hatsu Irene Enam,
Anderson Alex Kojo
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.21.5.a687-e
Subject(s) - medicine , breastfeeding , anthropometry , pregnancy , post partum , obstetrics , body mass index , infant feeding , pediatrics , endocrinology , biology , genetics
This was a cross‐sectional study designed to evaluate the effect of infant feeding type on maternal and infant body composition at 3 months post‐partum. Mothers were interviewed using a questionnaire with open and close ended questions to obtain information on pregnancy, delivery, and infant feeding history, as well as dietary intakes and physical activity. All anthropometric measurements were done onsite. Body composition of mother and baby were measured using the BOD POD and the PEA POD. The mean maternal age was 29.9 yrs, most were married (86.9%), had vaginal delivery (80.3%), and the majority (83.6%) had more than a college education. The average pre‐pregnancy weight was 63.7 kg. 70.5% of the mothers were exclusively breastfeeding (EBF), and 29.6% were mixed feeding (MF). Preliminary results show no significant differences between feeding type and 3 months post‐partum BMI and maternal percent body fat (%BF). In EBF mothers, BMI was a better predictor of %BF at 3 months post‐partum than in MF mothers (P < 0.05). Besides feeding type and BMI, other significant predictors of maternal %BF at 3 months were total energy intake and fat intake from dietary recalls. These findings suggest BMI alone may not be adequate in evaluating the %BF of MF mothers compared to EBF mothers. Supported by the University of Georgia Research Foundation