Prolonged breast-feeding improves height but not weight in rural Senegal

Prolonged breast-feeding is frequently associated with malnutrition in developing countries. A study of Senegalese toddlers up to 3 years of age found that extended breast-feeding enhanced growth in height but not weight among the poorest populations. Moreover, prolonged breast-feeding did not improve the growth rate of initially weak and stunted infants, as it did among initially normal-sized infants.

A group of 443 toddlers from central Senegal were recruited from dispensaries at 2 months of age and were visited in their homes at 6-month intervals between the ages of 1.5 and 3 years, at which times weight, height, arm circumference and triceps skinfold were measured. The mothers had an average of 7 live-born children each, and the mortality rate for children <5 years was 129 per 1,000 live births. Families lived in several rural agricultural villages. The climate is characterized by a dry season alternating with a long rainy season during which food is scarce and malaria is endemic. Other than breast milk, the staple diet of the toddlers consisted of millet and rice, fish once a week, and small amounts of animal milk and meat. Most of the children were weaned between 18 and 30 months.

Longer periods of continuous breast-feeding were associated with greater increments in height in the second and third years of life. Toddlers who were still breastfed in their second year of life were taller than children who had been weaned. None of the other growth measurements taken during home visits showed a positive benefit from prolonged breast-feeding. One explanation for the lack of association between breast-feeding and weight gain may be that prolonged consumption of breast milk improved the children’s intake of particular nutrients and micronutrients more than their overall energy intake. About one-third of the mothers in the study weaned their children late because they perceived the child as "little and weak", or stunted; these children were shorter as toddlers than children who were weaned late for other reasons. In this rural setting, the mothers had no access to infant formulas or processed foods, and the authors suggest that in such environments, breast-feeding may not provide extra growth benefits for initially stunted infants.

Simondon, Kirsten B., et al. Breast-feeding is associated with improved growth in length, but not weight, in rural Senegalese toddlers. Am J Clin Nutr 2001;73:959-67.

This media release is provided by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, to provide current information on nutrition-related research. This information should not be construed as medical advice. If you have a medical concern, consult your doctor. To see the complete text of this article, please go to: http://faseb.org/ajcn/May/11555-Simondaon.pdf

For more information, please contact: kirsten.simondon@mpl.ird.fr