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

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.