A new study has found that a child's fatness at age five is not related to being breastfed or the age in infancy when other foods are introduced, according to a report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition..

Researchers used a technique called dual-energy X-ray absorpiometry (DXA) to measure adiposity, or body fatness, in studying the association between infant feeding and fatness during early childhood.

"DXA measures the amount of fat tissue more directly than BMI (Body Mass Index)," said Dr. Hillary Burdette, nutrition specialist at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and lead researcher on the study.

This distinction is important, say the researchers, because adiposity, rather than weight, is thought to account for obesity-related illnesses, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and sleep apnea, among others.

"With the rising prevalence of childhood obesity, interest has increased in determining whether breastfeeding or the delayed introduction of complementary foods -- or both -- can reduce the risk of later obesity," said Burdette. " We found no such effect."

The researchers used DXA to measure the body composition, particularly the fat tissue, of 313 Caucasian and African American five-year-old children. They had previously gathered information on breastfeeding, infant formula use and the timing of the introduction of complementary foods from the children's mothers when the children were three years old.

The researchers defined complementary food as anything other than breast milk, formula or water. They asked mothers when their children started drinking juice or eating infant cereal, baby food or table food.

The research team found no significant difference in fat mass between children that were ever breastfed and those never breastfed.

Children who were breastfed for a longer duration and those who were breastfed without concurrent formula feeding did not have significantly lower fat mass than those children who were never breastfed. Children also did not differ if they were introduced to complementary foods before or after four months of age.

Dr. Burdette emphasized, however, that the team's findings in no way diminish the importance of breastfeeding for multiple benefits to mothers and children, including protection from infection and establishing a bond between mother and infant.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants be exclusively breastfed until at least four months of age.

Other sources: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition