Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40440349›Full record

ArticlePloS one2025

Associations between breastfeeding duration and weight status transitions in early childhood.

Hyojun Park, Eric N Reither

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Observational
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Hyojun ParkDepartment of Sociology and Anthropology, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9373-9493
Eric N ReitherDepartment of Sociology and Anthropology, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, United States of America.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Empirical evidence with respect to the protective effect of breastfeeding on childhood obesity remains inconclusive, and studies on sex-specific associations are sparse. We investigated whether (H1) longer breastfeeding duration reduces the risk of entry into elevated body mass (EBM); and (H2) longer breastfeeding duration increases the likelihood of exit from EBM. Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), our sample comprised 10,550 mother-child pairs after excluding 100 non-biological pairs. The ECLS-B assessed children from 9 months of age through kindergarten, spanning infancy through 7 years of age. We used two transitions in weight status (i.e., entry to EBM and exit from EBM) as outcome variables. The main predictor was breastfeeding duration (i.e., never breastfed, up to 2 months, 3 to 7 months, and 8 months or longer). Multilevel discrete-time models for recurrent transitions were employed to examine bidirectional changes in weight status. Among girls, breastfeeding for 8 months or longer reduced the risk of transitioning into overweight (adjusted Hazard Ratio (AHR): 0.76, 95% CI: 0.64, 0.89) or obesity (AHR: 0.66, 95% CI: 0.53, 0.82). Breastfeeding duration increased the likelihood of exiting EBM in a dose-response fashion among girls. Among boys, breastfeeding for 3 to 7 months was associated with preventing overweight (AHR: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.67, 0.92) or obesity (AHR: 0.82, 95% CI: 0.68, 0.98), but it did not help overcome EBM, regardless of breastfeeding duration. Breastfeeding duration helped to prevent EBM or overcome it, but these effects varied by the child's sex. Further research should elucidate how the benefits of breastfeeding may differ for boys and girls, and explore the potential need for sex-specific public health policies.

Indexed as

Body WeightBreast FeedingPediatric ObesityBody Mass IndexChildChild, PreschoolFemaleHumansInfantLongitudinal StudiesMaleTime Factors

Identifiers

PMID40440349
PMCPMC12121782

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.