Exclusive Breastfeeding and Other Foods in the First Six Months of Life: Effects on Nutritional Status and Body Composition of Brazilian Children

Table 1

Comparison of BMI, total body fat mass in the android region and waist circumference according to different practices of exclusive breastfeeding and consumption of other foods in the first 6 months of life of children from 4 to 7 years, Viçosa, MG, Brazil 2010/11.

Variables of child feeding	BMI; Median; (Min–Max)(kg/m^2)	Total body fat mass; Median (Min–Max) (kg)	Fat mass in android region Median; (Min–Max) (g)	Waist circumference Median; (Min–Max) (cm)
Months in EBF (𝑛=185)
0 (𝑛=37)	14,90 (12,30–20,00)	2,47 (1,07–10,96)	86,00 (38,00–719,00)	54,00 (46,50–75,80)
1–3 (𝑛=64)	15,20 (12,60–21,50)	2,80 (0,90–12,34)	92,00 (41,00–71,00)	54,70 (47,10–72,30)
4–6 (𝑛=84)	15,40 (12,40–22,20)	3,50 (1,34–17,02)	123,00 (40,00–1090,00)	54,30 (47,40–83,00)
𝑃 value	0,394^a	0,057^a	0,239^a	0,837^a
Cow’s milk (𝑛=185)
Yes (𝑛=79)	15,20 (12,30–21,50)	2,64 (0,90–12,34)	89,00 (39,00–772,00)	54,00 (21,00–143,00)
No (𝑛=106)	15,30 (12,40–22,20)	3,25 (1,07–17,02)	115,00 (38,00–1090,00)	53,00 (28,00–162,00)
𝑃 value	0,469^b	0,438^b	0,100^b	0,254^b
Dairy formula (𝑛=185)
Yes (𝑛=66)	15,00 (12,30–21,50)	3,10 (0,90–12,34)	106,00 (38,00–772,00)	55,00 (46,50–75,80)
No (𝑛=119)	15,40 (12,40–22,20)	2,92 (1,47–17,02)	99,00 (39,00–1090,00)	54,00 (47,40 −83,00)
𝑃 value	0,281^b	0,726^b	0,826^b	0,729^b
Age of introduction of solid foods (months) (𝑛=181)^1
0–3 (𝑛=41); 4–6 (𝑛=140); 𝑃 value	15,40 (12,30–20,00); 15,20 (12,40–22,20); 0,836^b	2,80 (0,90–10,96); 3,09 (1,07–17,02); 0,511^b	102,00 (42,00–719,00); 105,00 (38,00–1090,0); 0,834^b	55,00 (46,50–75,80); 54,00 (46,50–83,00); 0,464^b

BMI: body mass index; EBF: exclusive breastfeeding; Min: minimum; Max: maximum; ¹4 children were not included because they were being fed artificial milk and closed service at PROLAC previously to the introduction to solid foods.
^aKruskal Wallis’s test;
^bMann-Whitney’s test.