Relationship between Infant Feeding and Obesity and Overweight in Young Adulthood

Objective: Overweight and obesity described as the most serious public health issues that can lead to long-term consequences .This study conducted to investigate whether breastfeeding has a preventing effect on the prevalence of overweight and obesity in adulthood. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on students in Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences (n=300) in 2013. Data were collected through cluster sampling method. Data was collected via a researcher made checklist. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, chi square and ANOVA in SPSS-16 software. Results: The mean (±Standard Deviation) of body mass index (BMI) of students were 21.91 ± 0.4 kg/m2. The mean BMI of men was significantly higher than women. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 16.7%. Based on the result, approximately 96.4% of the children had been ever breastfed; 11.1% of the children were breastfed for less than 6 months. Researcher found no association between the duration or exclusivity of breastfeeding and obesity and overweight in later life. Conclusion: The results of our study did not show a significant association between the duration or exclusivity of breastfeeding and BMI in young adulthood.