Breastfeeding duration and maternal weight change through adulthood in a population-based cohort study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Weight retention postpartum can increase long-term risk of maternal overweight and obesity. In theory, breastfeeding may facilitate postpartum weight loss, but its association with maternal weight change, especially long-term, remains uncertain.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between breastfeeding duration and maternal weight change through adulthood emphasizing possible variations based on early adulthood BMI and the time of childbirth during the 1940s through the 1990s.

Methods

Women (n = 172,472) in the Norwegian Women and Health Study, born 1927 to 1965, completed ≤3 questionnaires (Q1-Q3) between 1991 and 2014. A linear mixed model was applied to assess the association between BMI change from age 18 y in relation to

SUBMITTER: Skammelsrud TB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12917222 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature