WORLD JOURNAL OF ADVANCE
HEALTHCARE RESEARCH

Dr. Rafi Akram Younis Al Saati*, Dr. Mohammad Ali Mohammad, Dr. Oday Ahmad Khalaf

ABSTRACT

Background: The early years of life may be a particularly sensitive time when there is a rise in the range of body fatness levels. Overweight and obesity in 4- to 5-year-old children may be linked to the time of the adiposity rebound, when body mass index (BMI) rises from the childhood trough. Objectives: To assess the protective effect of breast milk on preventing preschool overweight and obesity among a sample of Mosul province in Iraq. Patients and methods: This is a cross sectional study conducted at Al Salam Teaching Hospital during the period from the first of April 2022 to the first of April 2024, all patients were randomly chosen. The study included 100 subjects with overweight and obesity, aged less than 6 years (cases), which were matched with another 100 subjects with normal weight and same age (controls). The questionnaire includes three parts, part one for sociodemographic information of the study participants. Part two for breast feeding information and part three for watching TV hours and attending kindergarten. Results: There were 200 patients included in this study 105 (52.5%) of them were boys and 95 (47.5%) of them were girls, with boy to girl ratio was (1.1/1). Comparison between case with overweight and obesity and those with normal weight regarding their sociodemographic information. No significant association and no statistically significant difference between the two groups regarding their gender, age, maternal age, current maternal work, family income and paternal educational level. But it’s evidence that protective association and statistically significant difference between the two groups regarding their overall breast-feeding history, exclusive breast feeding for 6 months and 4 months. In contrast to bottle finding which is risky and statistically difference in case group in comparison to control group. Moreover, risky association and statistically significant difference between the two groups kindergarten attendance, but risky association with no significant difference for TV watch. Conclusions: Breastfeeding during infant's life especially within the first 4-6 months of life significantly reduces the risk of overweight and obesity among Iraqi preschool children.