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Relationship between exclusive breastfeeding and cardiorespiratory fitness in children and adolescents: A meta‐analysis
Author(s) -
BerlangaMacías Carlos,
ÁlvarezBueno Celia,
MartínezHortelano José Alberto,
GarridoMiguel Miriam,
PozueloCarrascosa Diana P.,
MartínezVizcaíno Vicente
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of medicine and science in sports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.575
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1600-0838
pISSN - 0905-7188
DOI - 10.1111/sms.13622
Subject(s) - cardiorespiratory fitness , breastfeeding , medicine , meta analysis , cochrane library , physical fitness , confidence interval , pediatrics , physical therapy , demography , sociology
Background Exclusive breastfeeding has been examined as a determinant factor of cardiorespiratory fitness in children and adolescents; however, previous research has reported certain gaps and controversial conclusions related to the real effect of breastfeeding on cardiorespiratory fitness. The aim of this systematic review and meta‐analysis was to assess the relationship between breastfeeding, in terms of duration and exclusivity, and cardiorespiratory fitness in schoolchildren and adolescents aged four to 18 years. Methods MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were searched systematically from their inception to December 2019. Observational studies addressing the association between breastfeeding and cardiorespiratory fitness in children and adolescents were included. The random‐effects method was used to estimate the pooled effect sizes and their respective 95% confidence intervals for all exclusive breastfeeding categories and cardiorespiratory fitness. Positive values indicated a direct relationship between exclusive breastfeeding and cardiorespiratory fitness. Results Eight published articles were included (a total of 16 862 children and adolescents, aged from seven to 15 years). The pooled effect sizes for exclusive breastfeeding categories on cardiorespiratory fitness were as follows: 0.01 (−0.07 to 0.09) for less than 3 months; 0.09 (0.00 to 0.19) for 3‐6 months; 0.07 (−0.01 to 0.16) for less than 6 months; and 0.14 (0.02 to 0.27) for more than 6 months. Conclusions The best current evidence indicates that longer exclusive breastfeeding is positively associated with higher cardiorespiratory fitness during childhood and adolescence.