Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in Infants and Their Association with Breastfeeding Practices.

OBJECTIVE: To find out the prevalence of overweight and obesity and to examine their association with breastfeeding practices among infants aged 9-12 months. STUDY DESIGN: A prospective cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of the Study: Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan, from March to August 2022. METHODOLOGY: A total of 211 infants aged 9-12 months were included using non-probability consecutive sampling. Sociodemographic data, breastfeeding practices, and dietary diversity were recorded through a structured questionnaire. Anthropometric measurements were obtained. According to the WHO growth standards, weight-for-height z-scores were computed; scores above +2 standard deviations were categorised as overweight, while scores above +3 standard deviations were classified as obesity. Logistic regression was used to examine the link between breastfeeding practices and overweight/obesity, adjusting for confounders. RESULTS: Overweight and obesity were observed in 23 (10.9%) of infants. Overweight and obesity were more prevalent in infants receiving non-exclusive breastfeeding, with 22 out of 120 (18.3%) affected, compared to only 1 out of 91 (1.1%) among exclusively breastfed infants (p <0.001). Logistic regression showed that exclusive breastfeeding was associated with a 96% reduction in the odds of excess weight (aOR = 0.04; 95% CI: 0.01-0.31; p = 0.002). Other variables, including maternal BMI, birth order, and dietary diversity, were not significantly associated. CONCLUSION: Non-exclusive breastfeeding practice was found to be a significant contributing factor for overweight and obesity in infants. Promoting exclusive breastfeeding could be an effective strategy to reduce early childhood obesity. KEY WORDS: Overweight, Obesity, Breastfeeding, Infants, Exclusive breastfeeding, WHO growth standards, Maternal BMI.