Association of breastfeeding duration with overweight and obesity among women in Ghana.

BACKGROUND

There is a general concurrence on the health benefits that breastfeeding confers to children, including offering maximal protection against obesity across their life course. However, the scientific evidence on similar benefits for women who breastfeed their children remains inconclusive. This study contributes to the discourse by examining the association of breastfeeding duration with overweight and obesity among women in Ghana.

METHODS

Data on 8,516 women of reproductive age were pooled from the last five (5) Ghana Demographic and Health Surveys, and analysed using descriptive proportions and logistic regression models.

RESULTS

The prevalence of overweight and obesity was about 8% lower for women who breastfed their children beyond 18 months (overweight = 13%, obesity = 5%) compared with women who did not breastfeed (overweight = 21%, obesity = 13%) their children at all. With reference to women who did not breastfeed their children, a significant lower odds of obesity was observed for those who breastfed their children for 13-18 months (OR = 0.46, 95% CI = 0.268, 0.864) and >18 months (OR = 0.41, 95% CI = 0.216, 0.764), after adjusting for possible confounding factors.

DISCUSSION

Women who breastfeed their children for a minimum of 12 months have lower risk of developing obesity. Promoting prolonged breastfeeding among mothers could be an effective pathway to preventing obesity among women in Ghana.